Provisional Rules of Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation on
Price Undertakings In Antidumping Investigations

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 With a view to ensuring reasonability and effectiveness of the application of antidumping measures, these Rules are formulated in accordance with provisions of the "Antidumping Regulation of the People's Republic of China".

Article 2 The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as MOFTEC) delegates the Bureau of Fair Trade for Import and Export to be responsible for implementation of these Rules.

Article 3 The term "Price Undertakings" mentioned in these Rules refers to as undertakings voluntarily offered to MOFTEC by exporters and producers who have responded to an antidumping investigation by way of revising prices or ceasing exports of the product under investigation at dumped prices, and accepted by MOFTEC, in order to suspend or terminate the said investigation.

Chapter 2 Offer of Price Undertakings
Article 4 The responding exporters and producers may offer a price undertaking to MOFTEC; MOFTEC may also suggest the responding exporters and producers to offer the price undertaking.

Article 5 MOFTEC shall not force relevant exporters and producers to enter into any price undertaking. The fact that exporters and producers do not offer a price undertaking or do not accept the suggestion of such price undertaking shall in no way prejudice the consideration of its dumping and dumping margin.

Article 6 The offer of a price undertaking shall be made no later than 45 days after the preliminary determination is publicly announced.

Article 7 MOFTEC shall not suggest exporters and producers to offer a price undertaking or accept such undertaking from exporters and producers unless a preliminary affirmative determination of dumping and injury caused by such dumping is made.

Article 8 Where an offer of a price undertaking contains confidential information, exporters and producers making the offer may file an application to MOFTEC for confidentiality treatment for that information, and shall provide a non-confidential summary for that confidential information.

Article 9 MOFTEC shall notify other interested parties of a price undertaking offered upon the receipt of it from exporters and producers concerned, and shall provide a non-confidential version of such undertaking for them to make comments thereon. Such comments shall be in written form and submitted within the period stipulated in the notification.

Chapter 3 Acceptance or Non-acceptance of Price Undertakings

Article 10 MOFTEC, while considering acceptance of a price undertaking offered, shall examine the following factors:

Whether the injury caused by dumping can be eliminated;
Whether there exist effective measures to monitor its fulfilment;
Whether such acceptance is consistent with public interests of the People's Republic of China;
Whether there exists any possibility of circumvention;
Other factors MOFTEC considers necessary to examine.

Article 11 MOFTEC only accepts the price undertaking offered by exporters and producers who have been fully cooperative during the period of investigation.

Article 12 Where a price undertaking offered by exporters and producers is considered acceptable, MOFTEC may, after consulting with the State Economic and Trade Commission, decide to suspend or terminate the antidumping investigation on the exporter and producer making the undertaking.
A Public Notice of the decision for suspension or termination of the antidumping investigation shall be given by MOFTEC.

Article 13 Where the acceptance of a price undertaking offered is considered impractical or inappropriate, MOFTEC shall notify the exporters and producers offering such undertaking of reasons for such non-acceptance, and give them full opportunity to make comments thereon.
The decision of non-acceptance of a price undertaking and reasons shall be explicitly written in the final determination.

Chapter 4 Content, Duration and Monitoring of Fulfilment Of Price Undertakings

Article 14 A price undertaking shall contain, but not limited to, the following items:

Scope of product;
Reference prices, including price establishment, form of price increase, margin of price increase, price adjustments at different stages;
Reporting obligation;
Explicit intent of acceptance of on-the-spot verification;
Guaranty of non-circumvention of the price undertaking;
Other content MOFTEC considers necessary to contain.

Article 15 The level of the price increase under a price undertaking shall be equivalent to the dumping margin established in the preliminary determination; where the level of the price increase under a price undertaking is less than the dumping margin established but adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry, such price increase may be less than dumping margin.

Article 16 A price undertaking shall become effective from the date of Public Notice given by MOFTEC with respect to the decision of suspension or termination of the antidumping investigation, and shall remain in force for 5 years.

Where MOFTEC only accepts an undertaking from a proportion of exporters and producers who have responded to the investigation, the duration specified in the preceding Paragraph of this Article shall start from the date of completion of the antidumping investigation on other exporters and producers who are not subject to the undertaking.

Article 17 MOFTEC may take the following ways to monitor the fulfilment of a price undertaking:

To require the exporter and producer from whom an undertaking is made to provide periodically information relevant to the fulfilment of such an undertaking, including actual quantity and price of exports, name of importers, etc.;
To verify periodically with the Customs data of exports of the product under investigation to the People's Republic of China made by the exporter and producer from whom the undertaking is made
To carry out periodically or non-periodically on-the-spot verification on the exporter and producer from whom the undertaking is made;
To collect and verify information with domestic importers of the exporter and producer making the undertaking;
Other ways MOFTEC considers appropriate to take.

Article 18 After an antidumping investigation is suspended or terminated pursuant to the Paragraph 1 of Article 33 of the "Antidumping Regulation of the People's Republic of China", the investigating authorities may decide continuation of the investigation on dumping and injury if relevant exporters and producers so request or the investigating authorities consider it necessary.

Article 19 Where an investigation is continued pursuant to Article 18 of these Rules, the price undertaking shall remain effective if the investigation results in an affirmative determination of dumping and injury.

Article 20 Where an investigation is continued pursuant to Article 18 of these Rules, the price undertaking made by relevant exporters and producers shall automatically lapse if the investigation results in a negative determination of dumping.

If the investigation results in a negative determination of injury, the antidumping investigation shall be terminated and the price undertaking made by exporters and producers shall also automatically lapse in accordance with provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 27 of the "Antidumping Regulation of the People's Republic of China".

Article 21 Where an investigation is continued pursuant to Article 18 of these Rules, if the investigating authorities did not make an affirmative determination of either dumping or injury due to the existence of a price undertaking, MOFTEC may decide to maintain the undertaking for a reasonable period.

Chapter 5 Cancellation, Withdrawal and Violation Of Price Undertakings

Article 22 In case MOFETEC considers it no longer consistent with public interests of the People's Republic of China to continue the fulfilment of a price undertaking, MOFTEC may cancel the decision of accepting such an undertaking.

Article 23 MOFTEC shall, within a reasonable period prior to the date on which the cancellation becomes effective, notify exporters and producers from whom the undertaking is made of the intent of the cancellation, and shall give them full opportunity to make comments thereon.

Article 24 Exporters and producers making a price undertaking may withdraw their undertaking at any time during the period that the undertaking remains in force, provided that such withdrawal has been submitted to MOFTEC 30 days prior to its carry-out.

Article 25 Where MOFTEC decides to cancel the decision of accepting a price undertaking, or exporters and producers making the price undertaking withdraw their undertaking, MOFTEC shall notify the Customs of applying the provisional antidumping measures according to the original preliminary determination from the date on which such cancellation or withdrawal becomes effective, and shall resume immediately the antidumping investigation.

In case the original antidumping investigation has been completed and dumping margin been finally established for that exporter and producer making the undertaking, definitive antidumping duties shall be levied from the date on which such cancellation or withdrawal becomes effective.

Article 26 A price undertaking is violated if one of the following circumstances take places:

Exporters and producers subject to a price undertaking effect their exports at a price less than undertaken;
The exporters and producers in question fail to provide periodically information relevant to the fulfilment of the undertaking in accordance with terms under the undertaking;
The exporters and producers in question refuse to permit MOFTEC to verify data and other information they have provided;
Data and other information the exporters and producers in question have provided relevant to the fulfilment of the undertaking are seriously inaccurate;
The existence of obvious circumvention;
Other activities violating the price undertaking.
Article 27 In case exporters and producers making a price undertaking violate their undertaking, MOFTEC shall immediately resume the antidumping investigation, and immediately apply provisional antidumping measures using the best information available.

If the final determination establishes the existence of dumping, definitive antidumping duties shall be levied in accordance with provisions of Article 38 of the "Antidumping Regulation of the People's Republic of China", and definitive duties may be levied retrospectively on products under investigation imported not more than 90 days before the application of provisional antidumping measures, provided that such retrospective assessment shall not apply to imports entered before the violation of the undertaking.

If the definitive antidumping duty established in the final determination is higher than the amount of cash deposit established in the preliminary determination, the difference shall be levied. If the definitive antidumping duty established in the final determination is lower than the amount of cash deposit established in the preliminary determination, the difference shall be refunded.

Article 28 Where exporters and producers making a price undertaking violate their undertaking, if the original antidumping investigation has been completed and dumping margins been established for such exporters and producers violating the undertaking, definitive antidumping duties shall be levied immediately in accordance with provisions of Article 38 of the "Antidumping Regulation of the People's Republic of China", and definitive antidumping duties may be levied retrospectively on products under investigation imported not more than 90 days before the application of provisional antidumping measures, provided that such retrospective assessment shall not apply to imports entered before the violation of the undertaking.

Chapter 6 Supplementary Provisions
Article 29 Price undertakings may be concluded between MOFTEC and the government of relevant exporting countries (regions).

Article 30 Any price undertaking shall be notified to the Committee on Antidumping Practices of World Trade Organization within 7 days following its entering into force.

Article 31 MOFTEC is responsible for interpretation of these Rules.

Article 32 These Rules shall enter into force from date of 15 April 2002