COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2079/98 of 24 September 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 2334/97 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on certain imports of flat pallets of wood originating in the Republic of Poland and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (1), and in particular Article 9(4) thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2334/97 (2), and in particular Article 4(1) and (2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the Advisory Committee,
Whereas:
A. PREVIOUS PROCEDURE
(1) The Council, by Regulation (EC) No 2334/97, imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on certain imports of flat pallets of wood falling within CN code ex 4415 20 20 originating in the Republic of Poland and accepted undertakings offered from certain producers in connection with these imports. Sampling was applied to Polish producers/exporters and individual duties ranging from 4,0 % to 10,6 % were imposed on the companies in the sample, while other cooperating companies not included in the sample received a weighted average duty of 6,3 %. A duty of 10,6 % was imposed on companies which either did not make themselves known or did not cooperate in the investigation. The producers from which undertakings were accepted were exempted from anti-dumping duties with regard to imports of one specific pallet type, the EUR-pallet, which is the only pallet type covered by the undertakings.
(2) Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2334/97 stipulates that any party which provides sufficient evidence to the Commission that:
- it did not export to the Community or produce wooden pallets described in Article 1(1) of that Regulation during the investigation period,
- it is not related to any of the producers or exporters in Poland which are subject to the anti-dumping duties imposed by that Regulation,
- it has actually exported to the Community the goods concerned after the investigation period, or it has entered into an irrevocable contractual obligation to export a significant quantity to the Community;
then that Regulation can be amended by granting that party the duty rate applicable to cooperating producers which were not in the sample, i.e. 6,3 %.
Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2334/97 provided that any party which met the criteria set out in Article 4(1) thereof can also be exempted from the payment of the anti-dumping duty if an undertaking with regard to the so-called EUR-pallet had been accepted from such party.
B. NEW EXPORTERS' REQUEST
(3) Eighteen new Polish exporting producers having requested the same treatment as the companies which cooperated in the original investigation but were not included in the sample, have provided, on request, evidence showing that they meet the requirements set out in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2334/97. The evidence provided by these applicant companies is considered sufficient to allow Regulation (EC) No 2334/97 to be amended by adding these eighteen exporting producers to Annex I of the said Regulation. Annex I specifies the exporting producers which are to be subject to the weighted average duty of 6,3 %.
(4) Ten of the eighteen Polish exporting producers which will receive the weighted average duty of 6,3 %, have also offered undertakings with regard to the EUR-pallet which were accepted by Commission Decision 98/554/EC (3). Consequently, these ten companies should be added to Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 2334/97 which contains a list of companies from which the Commission has accepted undertakings with regard to imports of the EUR-pallet and to which the duty does not, therefore, apply in this respect,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2334/97 is hereby replaced by Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 2
Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2334/97 is hereby replaced by Annex II to this Regulation.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 24 September 1998.