The first part of the questionnaire, section A, seeks information about the general background of the company and its sales in various markets. The information in section A provides the factual basis for many of the choices to be made later in the questionnaire (the basic form of the questionnaire, not yet adapted for use in a specific case, can be found on the Commerce Department website: Yvrviv. in.ita.cloc.gov). Section A of the questionnaire contains 10 question categories:

 

- Quantity and value of sales. This question seeks numerical data on the quantity and value of sales of the targeted merchandise to different markets, e.g. United States, home market and third countries. The question also requests a breakdown of sales between sales made to affiliated customers and sales made to unaffiliated customers. The answers to this question will dictate the composition of the sales databases that will need to be prepared.

 

- Corporate structure and afiliations. This question requests general information on how the company is organized and whether the company is affiliated with any other company involved in the production or sale of the targeted merchandise.

 

- Distribution process. This question requests a flow chart of how the targeted merchandise is sold and shipped to customers in each market, and an explanation of the flow chart. This question also seeks general information on the different categories of customers (e.g. end-users versus distributors) in each market. In addition, the question seeks general information on the types of selling activities undertaken in each market.

 

-Sales process. This question seeks a detailed explanation (and chronology) of how the targeted merchandise is sold in each market. In particular, the question seeks an explanation of the process the company employs to negotiate the price with its customers. The answers to this question will influence selection of the appropriate 'date of sale' for each transaction (discussed below).

 

- Sales to affiliated persons in the comparison market. This question seeks additional information on sales made to affiliated customers, and in particular, whether the affiliated customers consume or resell the targeted merchandise.

 

- Accounting and financial practices. This question seeks a general explanation of the company's accounting and financial practices and requests copies of the company's most recent financial statements.

 

- Merchandise. This question seeks a detailed description of the different types of the targeted merchandise that are sold in each market. The question also seeks information on the production process utilized for producing the targeted information, and seeks a full explanation of the company's product coding system.

 

- Further manufacture or assembly in the United States. This question asks whether the company's United States shipments of the targeted merchandise are made to an affiliate in the United States that undertakes further processing before the merchandise is sold to the United States customer. If so, the Commerce Department employs a special methodology for calculating the anti-dumping margin.

 

- Exports through intermediate countries. This question asks whether the company is aware if any of its shipments of the targeted merchandise made to a third country were subsequently exported to the United States.

 

- Sales of merchandise under investigation supplied by an unaffiliated producer. This question is for companies that do not produce the targeted merchandise, but rather only export the merchandise produced by another company.

 

The responses to these sections do not need to be exceedingly detailed. A typical section A response is generally less detailed than the remaining sections, although the supporting documents attached as exhibits will make the response much longer. The most important point is to ensure consistency between this information and the claims made later in the response.

 

Because of the interrelationship between section A and the rest of the questionnaire, it is important to prepare the response to the entire questionnaire as a whole. It is a mistake to submit the response to section A before the company has fully analysed the consequences in section B (foreign prices) and section C (United States prices) of making certain claims in section A.

 

In particular, preparing the answers to the section A questionnaire will make the company decide how to approach two critical issues for the anti-dumping investigation: (1) the universe, or specific transactions, of United States sales to be examined, and (2) the universe of sales in the comparison market to be examined.

 

Source: Business Guide to Trade Remedies in the United States: Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards legislation practices and procedures