WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SG/N/6/POL/2
25 February 2002
(02-0946)
Committee on Safeguards Original:  English
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.1(A) OF THE
AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS ON INITIATION OF
AN INVESTIGATION AND THE REASONS FOR IT
POLAND
The following communication, dated 22 February 2002, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Poland.
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Pursuant to Article 12.1(a) of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, Poland hereby notifies that
Polish Minister of Economy decided to initiate a safeguard investigation concerning imports into
Polish customs territory of calcium carbide.
Date of initiation of the investigation
18 February 2002
Product subject to investigation    
Calcium carbide, classified under tariff item 2849 10 00 0 of the Polish Harmonized Tariff.
Reasons for initiating the investigation
(i) the investigation was initiated upon the application of the domestic industry which
contained prima facie  evidence of the injury caused to the domestic industry by the
increasing imports of product in question.
(ii) preliminary data concerning the investigation period (1998 – first three quarters of
2001) show among others that:
(a) The volume of imports of the calcium carbide in the investigation period
amounted to:
- 9,564 tons in 1998;
- 9,016 tons in 1999;
- 8,658 tons in 2000;
 - 9,886.9 tons in the first three quarters of 2001 (6,289.4 tons in the
first three quarters of 2000 – the growth about 57.2 per cent).
(b) The share of imports in the domestic production during the investigation
period rose by:G/SG/N/6/POL/2
Page 2
- 2.1 percentage points in 1999 compared with 1998;
- 0.7 percentage points in 2000 compared with 1999;
- 17.5 percentage points in first three quarters 2001 compared with the
same period of 2000.
(c) With decreasing domestic consumption and rapid fall of the domestic sales,
there was a steady increase of imports share in the domestic market. The
aforementioned share increased by:
- 0.7 percentage points in 1999 in comparison with 1998;
- 0.4 percentage points in 2000 in comparison with 1999;
 - 12.3 percentage points in the first three quarters of 2001 in
comparison with the same period of 2000.
(d) The average c.i.f. prices of imports of the calcium carbide were lower in
comparison with the domestic ones.
(e) There was a steady fall of the volume of domestic production and sales:
• the fall of domestic production in 1999 in relation to 1998 amounted to
17.6 per cent; in 2000 in relation to 1999 - 7.6 per cent and in the firstthree quarters of 2001 in relation to the same period of 2000 – 21.8 per
cent:
• the fall of domestic sales in 1999 in relation to 1998 amounted to 10.3 per
cent; in 2000 in relation to 1999 - 6.3 per cent and in the first three
quarters of 2001 in relation to the same period of 2000 – 18.0 per cent.
(f) The applicant’s share in the market decreased:  in 1999 in comparison with
1998 by 0.7 percentage points; in 2000 in comparison with 1999 by
0.4 percentage points; in the first three quarters of 2001 in comparison with
the same period of 2000 by 12.3 percentage points.
(g) The share of stocks in the production amounted to:
- 3.9 per cent in 1998;
- 4.9 per cent in 1999;
- 7.2 per cent in 2000;
 - 8.4 per cent in the first three quarters of 2001 (8.0 per cent in the
same period of 2000).
(h) Employment in the production of the calcium carbide decreased by 25.2 per
cent in the period 1998 – 2000 and by 11.7 per cent in the first three quarters
of 2001 in relation to the same period of 2000.
(i) The productivity fell by 11.1 per cent in 1999 in comparison with 1998; in
2000 increased by 14.7 per cent in comparison with 1999 and in the first
three quarters of 2001 fell by 11.3 per cent in comparison with the same
period of 2000.
(j) The domestic industry due to an increasing drop in revenues has been
suffering losses.G/SG/N/6/POL/2
Page 3
Other information
(i) The initiation of the investigation was published in the Official Journal – Monitor
Polski-B No. 3, item 34 of 18 February 2002, which also indicated that:
(ii) interested parties should declare their participation in the investigation within the
period of 30 days after its initiation;
(iii) any information or opinions which the interested parties may wish to put forward
should be submitted within 60 days following the initiation of this investigation;
(iv) any additional information concerning  the investigation may be obtained in the
Department of Trade Defence Measures of the Ministry of Economy (00-489
Warsaw, Żurawia 4a; phone + 4822 693 4591, fax + 4822 693 4018, e-mail:
katarzyna.skowronska@mg.gov.pl).
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