For Immediate Release: February 17, 2006
FACT SHEET
Graduation of Ukraine to Market Economy Status
On February 17, the Department of Commerce's Import Administration
announced its determination in the inquiry into the status of Ukraine
as a non-market economy (NME) country under the U.S. antidumping and
countervailing duty law. The Department found that Ukraine is operating
as a market-economy country and that this finding will apply to all
future administrative proceedings covering periods of investigation
or review that fall after the effective date of this decision, February
1, 2006.
Background: U.S. law affords foreign parties the opportunity to
petition for a change in a non-market economy country's status to a market
economy country for purposes of the trade remedy laws. In response to
such a request, Import Administration is obligated to conduct a legal
proceeding to evaluate the request.
- In April 2005, the government of Ukraine requested a review of Ukraine's
status under the trade remedy laws.
- On April 20, 2005, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated a review
as provided for under U.S. law.
- During the course of the last nine months, the Department has, pursuant
to the statutory criteria noted below, conducted a review Ukraine's
non-market economy status. That review offered interested parties the
opportunity to participate and provide their views with respect to the
application of the statutory criteria to the Ukrainian economy. The
review involved the following procedural steps:
- On April 26, 2005, the Department published a Federal Register notice
inviting public comments on the Ukrainian request for a change in
Ukraine's status under the trade remedy laws.
- The Department established a deadline for the first round of comments
of July 11, 2005. The Department made those comments a part of the
public record of the proceeding and offered interested parties an
opportunity to provide rebuttal comments, which were due August 31,
2005.
- To allow interested parties a final opportunity to comment on the
status of economic and institutional reforms in Ukraine, the Department
extended the deadline for completion of the proceeding until February
16, 2006. Final comments were due on February 1, 2006.
- In the course of its review, the Department obtained information from
a number of other sources including the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.
The Department also received extensive comments from all interested
parties, including U.S. industries supporting and opposing any change
in Ukraine's status under the trade remedy laws, as well as from representatives
of Ukrainian industry and the Ukrainian government.
Statutory Criteria: The U.S. trade remedy laws provide a process
by which the government of a non-market economy country, or a foreign
exporter in that non-market economy with the support of its government,
can petition the Commerce Department for a change in its status.
- By law, the Commerce Department must consider six criteria in determining
whether to change Ukraine's status to that of a market economy. Those
criteria are
- currency convertibility
- free bargaining for wages
- foreign investment
- government ownership or control of production
- government control over the allocation of resources
- other appropriate factors
- In arriving at its decision regarding Ukraine, the Department based
its determination on extensive information and data developed from publicly
available sources such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Although the Department
identified some areas of the Ukrainian economy where specific problems
remain, particularly the difficulty of its business environment, it
concluded that Ukraine clearly has met the statutory requirements overall.
- With respect to the last factor, commentors raised a variety of issues
for the Department to consider, particularly corruption. The Department
found that these issues did not alter the fact that the Ukrainian economy
is generally operating under market principles.
- The Department has addressed the six criteria at length in its Decision
Memorandum, which may be found on Import Administration's website: www.ia.ita.doc.gov.