Material injury and causation. It GATT Article VI, paragraph 1, it is stated that dumping “...is to be condemned if it causes or threatens material injury to an established industry in the territory of a contracting party or materially retards the establishment of a domestic industry”. It is therefore not enough to establish that dumping is taking place. The dumping must also cause (or threaten) material injury to the domestic industry in the importing country and there must be a causal link between the dumping and the material injury. In other words, the dumping must be injurious. Article 3 of the URAA is dedicated to the Determination of Injury and paragraph 3.5 of the Agreement states that “It must be demonstrated that the dumped imports are, through the effects of dumping, causing injury within the meaning of this Agreement” (GATT Secretariat 1994:493,173). Furthermore the “determination of injury shall be based on positive evidence and involve an objective examination of both (a) the volume of the dumped imports and the effect of the dumped imports on prices in the domestic market for the like products, and (b) the consequent impact of these imports on 39 Anti-dumping Agreement, PART I, Article 3, Paragraph 3.3 and Article 5, Paragraph 5.8. domestic producers of such products”40 (GATT Secretariat 1994:172). The investigative authorities have to consider whether or not there has been a “significant increase in dumped imports” and whether or not there was “significant price undercutting” or whether the dumped imports depressed prices or prevented price increases “to a significant degree”.41 The actual volume of imports is therefore an important factor when considering injury (Corr 1997:84; Xxxx 1998:28-30). Paragraph 3.4 of the URAA states that “The examination of the impact of the dumped imports on the domestic industry concerned shall include an evaluation of all relevant economic factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the industry, including...” and thereafter lists a number of factors or indices that shall be considered. The factors that are listed are “... actual and potential decline in sales, profits, output, market share, productivity, return on investments, or utilization of capital; factors affecting domestic prices; the magnitude of the margin of dumping; actual and potential negative effects on cash flow, inventories, employment, wages, growth, ability to raise capital or investments” (GATT Secretariat 1994:173). According to a recent Dispute Settlement deci...
