As it prepares its response, the foreign company collects the various items of information and begins to prepare the computer database. When it is finished, the database gives the company a powerful tool to help prepare the response. Whenever the company is unsure whether a certain methodology will increase or decrease the overall margin, it should use the database to run sample dumping margins. The company can thus check precisely the effect of alternative methodologies on the margins.

This type of checking is not necessary for every decision to be made when preparing the response. Many actions have a clear effect on the overall margin. For example, all else being equal, increasing United States movement expenses will always increase the dumping margin, The company may want to use the computer database to check the amount of the increase, but the direction of the change is unambiguous. Such issues do not require any special checking.

Other issues are not so clear, however, and may require the use of the computer database. For example, suppose the company must choose between presenting average warranty costs or model-specific warranty costs. Using model-specific warranty costs raises the adjustment for some models but lowers it for other models. Some margins will go up; others will go down. The only way to measure the net effect of the various changes is to calculate overall dumping margins. If used properly, the database created as part of the response can be a powerful tool to help the foreign company present the most effective response possible.

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