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Title: Rules for Handling Import Relief Cases Regarding Textiles and Clothing CH
Abolished Date: 2005-04-21
Category: Ministry of Economic Affairs(經濟部)
Chapter 1 General Provisions
Article 1
These Rules are prescribed in accordance with the provisions of Article 18, paragraph 3 of the Foreign Trade Act
(hereafter referred to as "the Act").
Article 2
The term "textiles and clothing" as referred to herein means goods which have been so designated publicly by the
Ministry of Economic Affairs pursuant to the Act.
Article 3
The term "import relief case regarding textiles and clothing " as referred to herein means a case for which a petition has
been filed for investigation into the injury caused to an industry and for import relief pursuant to Article 18, paragraph 1 of the
Act.
The establishment of a case of injury to the industry as referred to in the preceding paragraph means an increase in the
imported quantities of the product concerned, resulting in the domestic industry producing the like products or directly
competitive products being seriously injured or threatened thereof.
Article 4
The term “domestic industry” as referred to in these Rules means the domestic producers of like products or directly
competitive products whose collective output of the products constitutes, as determined by the International Trade Commission
of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (hereafter referred to as the "Commission"), a major proportion of the total domestic
production of those products.
The term“like products”as referred to herein means textiles and clothing products having the same characteristics and
are composed of the same materials; the term “directly competitive products” means textiles and clothing products which,
despite the differences in their characteristics, are directly substitutable textiles and clothing products in terms of their utility
purpose and commercial competitiveness.
Article 5
The term "interested party" as referred to herein means:
1. foreign producers, foreign exporters, domestic importers or the commercial/industrial associations to which they belong as
members;
2. the government or its representative(s) of the exporting countries or the countries of the origin;
3. the domestic producers of like products or directly competitive products or the commercial/industrial associations to which
they belong as members;
4. other interested parties as identified by the Commission.
Article 6
In determining whether the domestic industry is seriously injured, overall consideration shall be given to the following
factors of the injured domestic industry and the change(s) in circumstances:
1. output,
2. productivity,
3. utilization of capacity,
4. inventories,
5. market share,
6. exports,
7. wages and employment,
8. domestic prices,
9. profits and investment,
10. other related economic factors.
In making a determination regarding the existence of a threat of serious injury, the factors and their trend of changes as
mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be considered so as to evaluate whether the said industry would be seriously injured
if relief measures were not adopted.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs, in determining the injury in accordance with the preceding two paragraphs, shall consider
all evidence or data acquired in the investigation. When factors other than increased imports are causing injury to the domestic
industry at the same time, such injury shall not be attributed to increased imports.
Article 7
The Ministry of Economic Affairs may adopt import quotas as relief measures if it has, pursuant to these Rules,
determined that the industry has been injured in an import relief case.
Any import quota invoked pursuant to the provisions of these Rules shall be applied on a country-by-country or region-by-
region basis.
Article 8
In applying the aforesaid import quotas on a country-by-country or region-by-region basis, overall considerations shall
include:
1. sharp and substantial increases in imports, actual or imminent, from such a country/region or countries/regions;
2. a comparison of the scale of the increase as referred to in the preceding item with imports from other countries or regions
and their market shares;
3. a price comparison between the imported textiles and clothing and those of the domestic industry at the same trade level.
Article 9
With respect to an import relief case regarding textiles and clothing, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may, upon petition
by the relevant authority, the injured domestic industry, or the trade association representing the injured domestic industry or
the relevant entities, hand over the case to the Commission to proceed with the investigation.
Chapter 2 Petition
Article 10
In a case of petition for import relief, the petitioner shall submit a written petition
to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, setting forth the following particulars and enclosing the relevant information:
1. proof that the petitioner meets the qualifications prescribed in Article 9;
2. a description of the imported textiles and clothing:
(1)the name and import and export commodity classification code of textiles and clothing products, tariff code,
specifications and grade, main production process, composition, usage and other characteristics;
(2)the exporting countries, country of origin, producer, foreign exporter, and domestic importer.
3. facts of the affected industry:
(1)the output, productivity, utilization of capacity, inventories, export volume, price, profits and investment, wages and
number of employees, inclusive of changes over the last three years prior to the petition date;
(2)the quantity, prices and the market share of imports in the domestic market of the said textiles and clothing products for
the last three years prior to the petition date;
(3)the quantity and prices of the said textiles and clothing products imported from the major exporting countries for the last
three years prior to the petition date;
(4)other information which can be used to demonstrate the fact that the industry is being affec
The particulars and information which shall be set forth or required under sub-paragraph 2 and 3 of the preceding paragraph
can be waived if the petitioner has a justification for not being able to provide the same and the Commission has so agreed.
Article 11
Unless any one of the following situations occur in which a petition shall be dismissed, the Ministry of Economic
Affairs, shall, within 30 days from the day after receiving the petition for import relief, refer the case to the Commission for
review and decision on whether to initiate an investigation; provided, however, that the time required for the petitioner to
supplement information shall not be included in the 30-day period.
1. the petitioner is not qualified according to Article 9;
2. the petitioner fails to meet the requirements stipulated in Article 10, Paragraph 1, and fails to supplement data within the
period as notified or fails completely to supplement the information.
Regardless of whether a decision is made to initiate an investigation or not, the Ministry of Economic Affairs shall
immediately notify the petitioner and known interested parties in writing and publish such a decision in the Gazette of the
Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Chapter 3 Investigation into Injury Caused to the Industry
Article 12
Where the Commission investigates into an import relief case, the chairman of the Commission shall designate one or
two Commissioners to be responsible for handling the case and, where necessary, request the relevant agency to assign staff or
commission scholars and experts in the relevant fields on a case-by-case basis to assist in the investigation.
Article 13
The Commission, when conducting investigation into an import relief case, shall comply with the following rules:
1. it shall review the information provided by the petitioner and the interested
parties, may assign staff to conduct on-site verification and, when necess
may require additional provision of relevant information; and
2. it shall hold hearings.
The hearing referred to in sub-paragraph 2 of the preceding paragraph shall be presided over by the specific
Commissioner designated by the Chairman of the Commission .
The petitioner or the interested parties shall provide information according to the requirements of the Commission; if such
information is not provided within the specified time, the Commission may proceed to examine the case based on the
information available.
Article 14
The petitioner and the interested parties shall indicate in writing whether or not the information they provide may be made
public or shall be kept confidential; when a request for confidentiality is made, a summary which can be made public shall be
provided.
If the request for confidentiality is not justified or a public summary is not provided, the Commission may disregard the
said information.
When the petitioner or interested parties have made a request for confidentiality with justification, the Commission shall
not disclose the said information without the approval of the petitioner or the interested parties.
Article 15
The Commission shall permit access to non-confidential information provided by the petitioner or interested parties.
Article 16
The Commission shall complete its investigation within 90 days from the day after the petitioner is notified of the
initiation of investigation by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and it shall convene a Commissioners Meeting to make a
decision as to whether a case of injury shall or shall not be established.
When a decision is made that there has been injury to the industry, the Commission shall continue to make recommendations
as to the nature and extent of restriction to be established and the countries/regions to which they shall be applied.
The time limit referred to in Paragraph 1 may be extended by 45 days, if necessary, and the extension shall be limited to
one time; the Commission shall notify the petitioner and the known interested parties of such an extension of time and the
reasons for it, and announce the same publicly.
Article 17
The decision referred to in the preceding Article shall be made by at least half of the attending Commissioners at a
meeting attended by at least half of the Commissioners.
Article 18
The Commission shall, within 15 days after its decision on the import relief measures is made, prepare a letter of decision
and submit to the Ministry of Economic Affairs together with an investigation report. The Ministry of Economic Affairs shall
notify the petitioner and the known interested parties of the decision in writing, and shall give a public notice of the decision; in
case of an affirmative decision that the industry has been injured, the Ministry of Economic Affairs shall notify the known
producers and exporters or the representatives of governments in those countries/regions to which the measures shall be
applied.
Chapter 4 Import Relief
Article 19
The adoption of import relief measures and their degree shall take into account the extent of their effect each import relief
case will have on national interests, the rights and interests of the consumers and the relevant industries, and shall be limited to
the extent of curing or preventing the injury caused to the industry by the imports.
Article 20
When the Ministry of Economic Affairs decides not to adopt any relief measures, it shall notify the petitioner and the
known interested parties in writing immediately and give a public notice thereof.
Article 21
When the Ministry of Economic Affairs decides to adopt relief measures, it shall notify the Textiles Monitoring Body of
the World Trade Organization (hereafter referred to as “TMB”) in accordance with the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing
and enter into consultation with those countries/regions to which the measures shall be applied.
Article 22
The Ministry of Economic Affairs shall, after an agreement for the textiles and clothing products concerned is reached as
a result of the consultation, give public notice of quota measures to be implemented and notify the TMB of the contents of the
agreement within 60 days following the date of the conclusion of the agreement.
In the event that no agreement has been reached within 60 days after the date on which the request for consultations was
received, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may, within 30 days upon expiration of the said period, announce the
implementation of the import quotas and at the same time refer the matter to the TMB.
Article 23
The level of such import quotas on the product as aforesaid shall be set at a level not lower than the actual level of imports
or exports from the exporting countries/regions concerned during the 12-month period ending 2 months preceding the month
in which the request for consultations was made.
Article 24
In highly unusual and critical circumstances, where delay would cause damage to the domestic industry which would be
difficult to cure, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may implement import quotas provisionally on the condition that the request
for consultations and notification to the TMB shall be effected within no more than 5 working days after taking the action.
Article 25
The implementation period for the import quotas shall not exceed 3 years. Provided that the textiles and clothing products
concerned are not designated in Article 2 in accordance with the public notice, the said measures shall be terminated
immediately.
Article 26
If the cause for import relief ceases to exist or if there is a change in circumstances after the import quotas have been
implemented for one year, the petitioner or interested parties may file a report to the Ministry of Economic Affairs for
termination or modification of the relief measures with concrete reasons and accompanied by evidence.
In the event of the following situations occurring during the implementation period of the import quotas, the Ministry of
Economic Affairs may, acting in an ex officio capacity or upon petition, terminate the said import quotas:
1. a substantial rise in the domestic prices of the textiles and clothing products concerned is caused by implementation of the
import quotas,
2. the industry structure of the textiles and clothing products concerned cannot be effectively improved.
The provisions of Chapter II shall then apply mutatis mutandis with respect to the application procedures of the preceding
paragraphs.
For any petitions submitted under Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2, the Commission shall complete its investigation within
90 days from the day after the petitioner is notified of the initiation of the investigation by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The time limit may be extended by 45 days, if necessary, and the extension shall be limited to one time; the Commission shall
notify the petitioner and the known interested parties of such an extension of time and the reasons for it, and announce the same
publicly.
Article 27
During the implementation period of the subject relief, if the textiles and clothing products concerned are imported via
another country/region or another method of circumvention is used, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may, acting in an ex
officio capacity or upon petition by the petitioner and interested parties, initiate an investigation and notify the foreign exporters
and domestic importers, as well as the government agency or its representative of the exporting country of the textiles and
clothing products concerned, to submit explanations.
In the event that the Ministry of Economic Affairs reaches an affirmative finding from the aforesaid investigation, it may,
in accordance with the result of the investigation, adjust the import quotas of the concerned countries/regions based on the
quantity that is found to be of the circumvented.
Prior to the adjustment, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may enter into consultations with the said countries/regions.
For any petitions submitted under Paragraph 1, the Commission shall complete its investigation within 90 days from the
day after the petitioner is notified of the initiation of the investigation by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The time limit may
be extended by 45 days, if necessary, and the extension shall be limited to one time; the Commission shall notify the petitioner
and the known interested parties of such an extension of time and the reasons for it, and announce the same publicly.
Chapter 4-1 Import Relief Regarding Textiles and Clothing from Mainland China
Article 27-1
The petitions filed pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the Act, for the investigation on injuries to the textile industry and
the application of import relief measures may be specific on the textiles and clothing products from Mainland China.
A case of injury to the industry as referred to in the preceding paragraph is to be established, when there is an increase in the
imported quantity of the textiles and clothing products from Mainland China or an increase in such imports relative to domestic
production, so as to cause or threaten to cause market disruption of the domestic industry producing like products or directly
competitive products.
Article 27-2
In making a determination regarding the existence of the market disruption of, or threat of market disruption to, the domestic
industry as referred to in the preceding article, the volume of imports concerned, the effect of such imports on prices for like or
directly competitive products, and the effect of such imports on the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive
products in said case shall be considered together.
Article 27-3
In the event that the Ministry of Economic Affairs determines to apply import relief measures in cases where a market
disruption, as referred to in the preceding article, is found, it shall immediately request for a consultation with Mainland China.
Article 27-4
Starting from the day on which the document requesting for consultation is served, the Ministry of Economic Affairs shall
apply import quotas on the textiles and clothing products from Mainland China and give public notices of the said measures.
Before an agreement is reached as a result of the consultation, the annual import quotas shall not exceed the total quantities,
plus 7.5 percent (6 percent for wool product categories), of such products from Mainland China during the 12-month period
ending 2 months preceding the month in which the document requesting for consultation was served. If the implementation
period of the restriction measures is shorter than one year, the import quantities shall be calculated pro rata.
In the event an agreement is reached as a result of the consultation, the Ministry of Economic Affairs shall apply the import
quotas on the textiles and clothing products from Mainland China pursuant to such agreement.
Article 27-5
The implementation period of the import quotas as referred to in Paragraph 1 of the preceding article shall be started from the
day the document requesting consultation is served to the end of the same year. If the period from the day the document
requesting for consultation is served to the end of the same year is shorter than 3 months, the implementation period shall be
12 months starting from the day the document requesting for consultation is served.
The implementation period of the restriction measures, applied pursuant to Paragraph 1 of the preceding article or the preceding
paragraph of this article, shall not exceed one year unless an agreement is reached as a result of the consultation.
Article 27-6
In the event a petition is filed pursuant to Article 27-1, no other petition may be filed for the same case pursuant to Article 26-1
of “Rules for Handling Import Relief Cases”.
Except for Article 8, Paragraph 2 of Article 22, and Article 23 to Article 26, articles in these Rules shall be applied mutatis
mutandis to this Chapter.
Chapter 5 Supplemental Provisions
Article 28
(deleted)
Article 29
(deleted)
Article 30
The matters regarding the investigation, determination, consultation, the relief measures, etc. which are not provided for in
the Act or these Rules shall be handled in accordance with the applicable international agreements and customs.
Article 31
These Rules shall be implemented from the date of promulgation.
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