2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No769/2002
of7May2002
imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of coumarin originating in the People's
RepublicofChina
(OJ L 123, 9.5.2002, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EC) No 1854/2003 of 20 October 2003 L 272 1 23.10.2003
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999
should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) andCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
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COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No769/2002
of7May2002
imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of coumarin
originatinginthePeople'sRepublicofChina
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 EuropeanCommun ity (1), and in particular Article
11(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after
consulting the Advisory Committee,
Whereas:
A.PREVIOUSPROCEDUREANDEXISTINGMEASURES
(1)InMarch 1996, by RegulationNo 600/96 (2) definitive anti-
dumping measures were adopted with regard to imports of
coumarin originating in the People's Republic of China. The
measures imposed were inthe form of a specific duty of ECU3 479 per tonne.
B.PRESENTINVESTIGATION
1.Requestforreview
(2)Following the publication of a notice of impending expiry (3)o f
the anti-dumping measures in force on imports of coumarin
originating in the People's Republic of China (‘country
concerned’ or ‘the PRC’), the Commission has received arequest for review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EC)No 384/96 (‘the basic Regulation’).
(3)The request was lodged on4 Jan uary 2001 by the EuropeanChemical Industry Council (CEFIC) (‘the applicant’) on behalfof the sole producer in the Community representing the totalityof the Community production of coumarin.
(4)The request for anexpiry review was based onthe groun ds thatinjurious dumping of imports originating in the PRC would belikely to continue or to recur if measures were allowed to expire.
2.Noticeofinitiation
(5)Having determined, after consultation of the Advisory
Committee, that sufficient evidence existed for the initiation of
an expiry review, the Commission initiated an investigation
pursuant to Article 11(2) of the basic Regulation by a noticepublished inthe Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities(
4).
3.Periodofinvestigation
(6)The investigation period (‘IP’) for the examination of continua-
tion or recurrence of dumping and injury covered the periodfrom 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000. The examination oftrends relevant for the assessment of continuation or recurrenceof injury covered the period from 1 January 1996 up to the endof the IP (‘period under review’).2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Council Regulation
(EC) No 2238/2000, OJ L 257, 11.10.2000, p. 2.
(2) OJ L 86, 4.4.1996, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 271, 22.9.2000, p. 3.
(4) OJ C 104, 4.4.2001, p. 5.
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4.Parties concernedbytheinvestigation
(7)The Commission officially advised the applicant Community
producer, the exporting producers in the PRC and their represen-tatives, the Chinese authorities and the importers, users andassociations known to be concerned, of the initiation of thereview. The Commission sent questionnaires to exporting produ-
cers, a producer in the United States (analogue country), the sole
Community producer, importers, users and associations known tobe concerned and to those parties who made themselves knownwithin the time limit set in the notice of initiation of the review.
(8)The Community producer, the analogue country producer, oneimporters' association, and five users replied to the question-naires. With respect to the PRC no reply to the questionnairewas received.
5.Verification ofinformationreceived
(9)The Commission sought and verified all information it deemed
necessary for the purpose of a determination of the continuationor recurrence of dumping and injury and of the Community
interest. The Commission also gave the parties directly
concerned the opportunity to make their views known in writingand to request a hearing.
(10)Verificationvisits were carried out at the premises of thefollowing companies:
Community producer:
— Rhodia, (Lyon) France;
Importers:
— Quest International, (Ashford) United Kingdom;
Analogue country producer:— Rhodia, (Cranbury NJ) USA.
C.PRODUCTCONCERNEDANDLIKEPRODUCT
1.Productconcerned
(11)The product concerned is the same as in the original investiga-
tion, i.e. coumarin, a whitish crystalline powder with thecharacteristic odour of newly mown hay. Its main uses are as
anaroma chemical an d as a fixative inthe preparationof
fragrance compounds, such compounds being used in theproduction of detergents, cosmetics and fine fragrances.
(12)Coumarin, which was originally a natural product obtained fromtonka beans, is now produced synthetically. It can be obtainedby a synthesis process starting from phenol to obtain salicilalde-hyde (Perkin reaction) or by a synthesis from orthocresol(Raschig reaction). The main physical specification of coumarin
is its purity, of which the melting point is the indicator. The
standard quality coumarin marketed in the Community has amelting point varying between 68 ºC and 70 ºC which corre-sponds to 99 % purity.
(13)The product concerned falls within CN code ex 2932 21 00.
2.Likeproduct
(14)As in the original investigation, coumarin produced and sold on
the domestic market in the analogue country (USA) and that
exported to the Community from the PRC as well as coumarinproduced and sold by the Community industry in the Communitymarket were found to have effectively identical physical charac-teristics and uses and are thus like products within the meaningof Article 1(4) of the basic Regulation.2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 3
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D.LIKELIHOOD OF A CONTINUATION OF DUMPING OR
RECURRENCEOFDUMPING
(15)In accordance with Article 11(2) of the basic Regulation, it is
necessary to examine whether the expiry of the measures wouldbe likely to lead to a continuation of dumping.
(16)In examining whether there is a likelihood of a continuation ofdumping, it is necessary to verify whether dumping exists atpresent and whether any such dumping is likely to continue.
1.Preliminaryremarks
(17)The findings on dumping set out below should be viewed in the
light of the fact that the Chinese exporting producers did not
cooperate in the investigation and findings therefore had to be
based onfacts available, i.e. Eurostat data, Chin ese export tradedata and information contained in the complaint.
2.Currentlevel ofdumping
(a) Analogue country
(18)The existing measures provide for a single country-wide duty on
all imports into the Community of coumarin from the PRC. Inaccordance with Article 11(9) of the basic Regulation, theCommissionemployed the same methodology as inthe origin al
investigation. Accordingly, normal value was determined on the
basis of information obtained in a market economy third country(the ‘analogue country’).
(19)The United States had served as an analogue country in the
original investigation. In the notice of initiation of this expiry
review it was therefore envisaged to again choose the UnitedStates as analogue country for the purpose of establishing normalvalue. Since it was also found that the original reasons forselecting the USA, i.e. the size of its domestic market, the open-ness of its market and its degree of access to basic materials,
were still valid, the United States was considered to be an appro-
priate and not unreasonable choice of analogue country. Onlyone interested party objected to this choice of analogue country,in particular with regard to the difference in manufacturing theproduct, however they did not submit any alternative choice indue time. Therefore, since the United States producer which
was contacted agreed to cooperate fully, and had sufficient
representative domestic sales, the United States were, in accor-dance with Article 2(7) of the basic Regulation, considered tobe an appropriate and not unreasonable choice of analoguecountry for establishing normal value in respect of the PRC for
the product concerned.
(b) Normal value
(20)It was subsequently examined whether the domestic sales of the
cooperating United States producer to independent customerscould be considered to have been made in the ordinary courseof trade, in accordance with Article 2(4) of the basic Regulation.It was found that the weighted average selling price of all sales
during the investigation period was above the weighted average
unit cost of production, and that the volume of individual salestransactions below unit cost of production was more than 20 %but less that 90 % of the sales being used to determine normalvalue; therefore only all the profitable domestic sales were
regarded as having been made in the ordinary course of trade,
and used for comparison. Normal value was therefore deter-mined, as set out in Article 2(1) of the basic Regulation, on thebasis of the price paid or payable, inthe ordin ary course oftrade, by independent domestic customers of the cooperatingUnited States producer during the investigation period.2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 4
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(c) Export price
(21)As regards the exports to the Community, for which there was
no cooperation from the Chinese exporting producers, findingshad to be based onthe facts available, inaccordan ce with Article18(1) of the basic Regulation. An average export price for all
transactions was thus determined on the basis of Chinese export
trade data.
(d) Comparison
(22)For the purpose of a fair comparison, and in accordance with
Article 2(10) of the basic Regulation, due allowance in theform of adjustments was made for differences in respect ofinland freight, handling and loading, transport and credit costs,
which affected prices and price comparability.
(23)Concerning inland transport, the relevant adjustments were based
on the analogue country's costs.
(e) Dumping margin
(24)In accordance with Article 2(11) of the basic Regulation, the
weighted average normal value, on an ex-works basis, was
compared to the weighted average export price onanex-worksChinese basis, at the same level of trade.
(25)The above comparison showed the existence of very significantdumping. The dumping margin found was substantial and justbelow the level found in the original investigation (around 50 %).
(26)The investigation did not reveal any reason why this dumpingwould disappear if the measures were to be repealed. It wastherefore concluded that there is a likelihood of continuation ofdumping. However, given the low level of imports originating in
the PRC during the IP, it was considered appropriate to examine
whether there were a recurrence of dumping in increasing exportvolume should exhausting measures be repealed.
3.DevelopmentofimportsfromthePRC
(27)For the examination of a likelihood of recurrence of dumping the
following factors were examined: existence of dumping, theevolution of production and capacity utilisation in the PRC, andthe evolutionof worldwide Chin ese coumarinexports.
(a) Existence of dumping
(28)The dumping margin established in the initial investigation was
high (more than50 %, leadin g to a duty of ECU 3 479 per
tonne). The investigation carried out under the present reviewindicates that dumping still persisted and was close to the levelfound in the initial investigation.
(b) Evolutionof productionan d capacity utilisation
inthe PRC
(29)According to the information available, production capacity inthe PRC is high, and could be even increased in a very short
time due to the nature of the product and the production process.
The information shows that the Chinese production capacity isabout 1 900 tonnes (representing 40 % of the world wide capa-city with seven producers, and 18 potential producers ready tore-enter in the markets. This is much larger than the entire EC
consumption of 700 tonnes.
(30)Consequently, the enormous availability of unused productioncapacity (between50 % an d 60 % of productioncapacity) gives
Chinese exporting producers a very high degree of flexibility inthe productionprocess. These producers are therefore able toquickly increase production and direct it to any export market,including, were the measures to be repealed, the Communitymarket.2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 5
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(c) Evolutionof Chin ese exports to third coun tries
1.General trend of exports
(31)On the basis of Chinese export statistics, Chinese price beha-
viour ontheir other export markets shows that Chin eseexporters' prices inthose markets are onaverage 11 % lower
than the prices offered in the Community, and even 16 % in
certain third country markets, such as Hong Kong and India.
2.Possible deflection of Chinese exports due to the introduction
of restrictions in third countries
(32)The USA imposed anti-dumping duties on import of coumarinfrom the PRC in 1995 and maintained the duties in May 2000pursuant to an expiry review. The USA duties range from31,02 % to 160,80 %.
(33)This shows that there is pressure onChin ese exportin g producersto find alternative export markets. Should the Community repeal
the current anti-dumping measures, exports to the Community
market would be an attractive option for Chinese exportingproducers.
3.Chinese exports to representative export markets
(34)It is important to note that, after the Council imposed anti-
dumping duties in 1995, exporting producers in the PRC werenot able to penetrate other export markets or to expand theexports inthe other existin g markets.
(d) Conclusion
(35)The investigation has shown that the quantities imported into the
Community from the PRC during the investigation period were
dumped.
(36)The investigation has also shown that the volume of Chinesecoumarinexports to the Commun ity would inall probabilityreach substantial levels if the current measures were to berepealed. This conclusion was arrived at in view of the substan-tial spare capacity available inthe PRC, an d inview of thepressure on Chinese exporting producers to find alternative
export markets to the USA and to other export markets. All this
illustrates the strong continued interest of Chinese exportingproducers in selling to the Community.
(37)It was also concluded that such substantially increased exports tothe Community would most likely be made at dumped prices.This is demonstrated by the low prices found for Chinese exportsto other mainthird coun try markets.
(38)Insummary, it is most probable that imports to the Commun ityfrom the PRC will resume in significant quantities and at signif-
icantly dumped prices, should measures be repealed.
E.DEFINITIONOFTHECOMMUNITYINDUSTRY
(39)The company represented by the applicant was the only producer
of coumarin in the Community during the investigation period.
(40)During the IP, the Community producer imported coumarin froma country other than the PRC. The purpose of such imports was
to compensate shortages of the product concerned from theproducer's Community production due to technical reasons.These imports represented a minor part of the total sales volumeby the producer inthe Commun ity. Thus, despite these sales of
imported coumarin, the primary activity of the company
remained in the Community and the import of this producer didnot affect its status as Community producer. This Communityproducer is therefore deemed to constitute the Communityindustry within the meaning of Article 4(1) and Article 5(4) ofthe basic Regulation.2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 6
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F.ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION IN THE COMMUNITY
MARKET
1.Communityconsumption (1)
(41)Community consumption was established on the basis of the
sales volumes of the Community industry on the Communitymarket as reported in the questionnaire reply, the importvolumes into the Community from the country concerned and
all other third countries, on the basis of Eurostat.
(42)On this basis, the apparent consumption of coumarin increased
by 92 % during the period under review. The most significantincrease took place between 1996 and 1997, i.e. + 82 %.However, this should be seeninthe light of large volumes ofcoumarinwhich were imported, main ly from the PRC, in1994and 1995, i.e. before the imposition of the anti-dumping
measures. These large imported volumes have beenstocked an d
then sold/used in 1996 thus reducing artificially the demand forcoumarin this year and consequently the apparent consumption.In1997, total import volumes wen t back to a level comparablewith the one in 1993.
2.Importsfromthecountryconcerned
(a) Volume and market share
(43)With respect to the volume of the Chinese imports, it drastically
decreased over the period under review, i.e. – 89 %, in particularbetween 1996 and 1998, i.e. – 87 %. This coincided with the
imposition of the anti-dumping measures and the emergence of
other countries that increased their exports to the Community.Inthis respect, it would appear that certainimports from Japanwere in fact of Chinese origin thereby circumventing themeasures. This canbe n oticed inparticular as from 1997 when
imports from Japansudden ly surged. Afterwards, giventhat the
USA took action to prevent such circumvention activities on theUS market, the Japanese exporter concerned also ceased itsexports to the EC and imports from Japan as reported by Euro-stat on the Community market have steadily decreased until theend of the IP.
(44)The market share of the imports from the PRC decreased by 25
percentage points during the period under review and were to be
found between 1,5 and 3 %.
(b) Prices
(45)After the impositionof the measures in1995, the average cif
prices of the imports concerned, as reported by Eurostat,
increased by 23 %, between 1996 and the IP, but remained
below the average cif prices of all other imports during theperiod under review, and also below the Community industry'sprices.
3.EconomicsituationoftheCommunityindustry
(a) Production
(46)The Community industry's production doubled between 1996 and
the IP. A significant increase took place between 1996 and 1997.Subsequently, production slightly decreased until 1999 and wentup againbetween1999 an d the IP.2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 7
(1) For confidentiality reasons, given that one single Community producer
constitutes the Community industry, the figures contained in this Regulation
will be indexed or only given approximately.
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(b) Capacity and capacity utilisation
(47)The total production capacity of the Community industry
increased by 29 % over the period under review. The increaseis due to an upgrade of the existing installation made in 1999.
(48)Capacity utilisation increased by 56 % between 1996 and the IP.The increase was particularly marked between 1996 and 1997 aswell as between1999 an d the IP.
(c) Sales inthe Commun ity
(49)The sales volume of the Community industry significantly
increased during the period under review. It trebled between
1996 and the IP. This development was made possible at a timewhenproductiondoubled, because exports decreased inthe sametime. The sales increase was most remarkable between 1996 and1997 even though the sales steadily increased between 1997 and
the IP. However, as already explained under recital 42, the
demand on the Community market was particularly low in1996, thus distorting the comparison. Taking 1997 as a basis ofcomparison, the increase of the sales volume of the Communityindustry between 1997 and the IP is 41 %. Several reasonsexplain this evolution, such as the imposition of the anti-
dumping measures in 1995 and the decrease of imports from
certain third countries as already mentioned in recital 43.
(d) Stocks
(50)The Community industry's end of year stocks decreased by 8 %
during the period under review. They firstly increased between1996 and 1997, and then decreased until 1999 before raisingagainbetween1999 an d the IP.
(e) Market share
(51)The market share of the Community industry rose by 27 percen-
tage points during the period under review. This increase was
especially marked between1996 an d 1998 whenmarket share
gained 20 percentage points. Afterwards, market share slightlydecreased in 1999 and regained around 12 percentage pointsbetween1999 an d the IP.
(f) Prices
(52)The Community producer's average net sales price decreased by
14 % between1996 an d the IP. The fall was particularly markedbetween 1996 and 1997 and then between the 1999 and the IP.
(53)This can be explained partly by the price level of the Chineseproducts which, as already mentioned under recital 45, remained
below the average cif prices of all other imports during the
period under review. Even though the import volume remainedrelatively low during the IP, the investigation has shown thatprice offers by the Chinese exporters have continued to bemade at low prices. Inaddition , the price pressure of importsfrom Japan cannot be considered negligible during the period
under review, even if volumes have decreased since 1997.
However, this evolutionshould also be seeninthe light of theefforts made by the Community producer to improve the effi-ciency of the production process. The increase of theproduction capacity, coupled with the effect of the anti-dumping
measures, permitted the Community producer to increase the
volume sold and thus to reduce the unit cost of goods sold.
(g) Profitability
(54)The weighted average profitability of the Community industry
markedly improved during the period under review since itpassed from a significant loss in 1996 to a profit which rangedbetween 5 % and 10 % in the IP. This increase, which was parti-cularly marked between1998 an d the IP, should be seeninthe2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 8
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light of the upgrade of the capacity already mentioned under
recital 47, which permitted the Community industry to signifi-cantly reduce its costs of production.
(h) Cash flow and ability to raise capital
(55)The development of the cash flow generated by the Community
industry in relation to sales of coumarin is very similar to that ofthe profitability since it passed from a negative to a positivefigure as from 1999.
(56)The investigation established that the Community industry wasnot experiencing difficulties in its ability to raise capital.However, this is not considered as a meaningful indicator giventhat the Community industry is a large group whose coumarinproductionrepresen ts a relatively small part of the total produc-tion, and that the ability to raise capital is closely linked to the
performance of the whole group.
(i) Employment, productivity and wages
(57)Employment of the Community industry slightly increased
during the period under review and gained 9 % between 1996and the IP. The productivity of the Community industry's work-
force, measured as productionvolume per personemployed,
markedly increased during the same period, improving by morethan80 %. The wages as a whole in creased by 27 % between1996 and the IP, thus leading to an increase of the averagewage per employee by 16 % between1996 an d the IP.
(j) Investment and return on investment
(58)The level of investments significantly increased between 1996
and 1999 and went down again in the IP. The investigationshowed that most of this capital expenditure was related to theupgrade of the capacity already mentioned under recital 47, aswell as to the maintenance of the equipment.
(59)The return on investment, expressed as the relation between thenet profits of the Community industry and the net book value ofits investments, followed very closely the profitability trendsince it turned out to be positive as from 1999 and gained 23percentage points between 1996 and the IP.
(k) Growth
(60)As mentioned above, while Community consumption almost
doubled during the period under review, the sales volume andthe market share of the Community industry followed an evenmore marked trend. The Community industry could thereforefully benefit from the growth of the market.
(l) Magnitude of the dumping margin
(61)As concerns the impact on the Community industry of the
magnitude of the dumping margin found (see recital 28), giventhe low volume of imports during the IP, this cannot have animpact.
4.Conclusion
(62)The imposition of the anti-dumping measures on imports of
coumarin originating from the PRC had a positive impact onthe Community industry, which could recover from its weakenedeconomic situation. All injury indicators except sales prices
developed positively. However, this trend should also be seen
in the light of the efforts made by the Community industry inorder to improve its efficiency and to reduce its cost of produc-tion. Finally, it should be noted that such improvement onlypermitted the Community industry to get back to the situationprevailing just before the dumping practice started.2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 9
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G.LIKELIHOODOFRECURRENCEOFINJURY
1.Likelihoodofrecurrence ofinjury
(63)With regard to the likely effect on the Community industry of
the expiry of the measures inforce, the followin g factors were
considered, in line with the elements summarised in recitals 35to 38.
(64)There are clear indications that imports originating in the PRC
will continue at dumped prices. Moreover, there is a likelihood
that import volumes would increase significantly given that theChinese exporting producers have the potential to raise theirproduction and export volume in view of their large unusedproductioncapacity. Inaddition , eventhough the world
coumarin consumption is forecast to slightly increase in the
next three years, it is unlikely to absorb the unused Chinesecapacity.
(65)Having regard to the Chinese exporters' export price behaviour
on third country markets which are around 10 % lower than on
the Community market, namely Hong Kong, India, Japan andSingapore, it is likely that the Chinese exporting producers willadopt anaggressive price behaviour inthe Commun ity inorderto regaintheir lost market shares. In deed, these low prices onthird countries markets show that Chinese exporters consider it
to be intheir in terest to sell at such prices. This inturnwould
lead to a recurrence of injury in terms of decreasing sales pricesof the Community industry and decreasing sales volumes as wellas the consequent negative impact on profitability.
(66)The Community market is also likely to be attractive for theChinese exporters. On the one hand, it is recalled that theCommunity market absorbed 46 % of the Chinese exports in1995, i.e. before the impositionof the measures curren tly inforce, compared to 10 % in1999.
(67)On the other hand, the comparison between the total Chineseexports on the world market, and the Chinese exports on theCommunity market during the same period, shows that Chineseexporters did not manage to find new markets that would be
likely to replace their sales in the EC. Indeed, the strong
decrease of the Chinese exports to the Community marketbetween 1995 and 1999 (363 tonnes) was only compensated byan increase of Chinese exports to other third countries of around100 tonnes.
(68)In addition, as the Community market and the US market standfor around 50 % of the world consumption of coumarin andgiven that the USA have imposed anti-dumping measures onimports of coumarinfrom the PRC, it is very likely that, should
the measures be repealed, the Community market would be
attractive for exporters from the PRC.
(69)One importers' association argued that the existence of capacityin the PRC does not imply in itself likely recurrence of injury.
(70)In relation to this particular point, it is recalled that this investi-gation should evaluate the likelihood of recurrence of dumpingand injury in case the measures are removed. Even if the exis-tence of large production capacity in the PRC does not in itself
mean that injurious dumping will recur, this is nevertheless a
meaningful indicator that should be taken into consideration.This indicator, when combined with the analysis of the Chineseexporters' behaviour on other third markets and the ongoingdumping found, constitutes an indicator of the likely behaviourof the exporters incase the measures are repealed an d thus the
likely effect thereof.
(71)Onthe basis of the above, it is con cluded that, should the
measures be repealed, there is a likelihood of a recurrence ofinjury from imports of coumarin from the PRC.2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 10
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H.COMMUNITYINTEREST
1.Introduction
(72)According to Article 21 of the basic Regulation, the Commission
examined whether a prolongation of the existing anti-dumping
measures would be against the interest of the Community as a
whole. The determination of the Community interest was basedon an appreciation of all the various interests involved, i.e. thoseof the Community industry, the importers/traders as well as theusers of the product under consideration. In order to assess the
likely impact of maintaining or not maintaining the measures,
the Commission requested information from all interested partiesmentioned above.
(73)It should be recalled that, in the previous investigation, the adop-tion of measures was considered not to be against the interest of
the Community. Furthermore, the fact that the present investiga-
tion is a review, thus analysing a situation in which anti-dumping measures have already been in place, would allow theassessment of any undue negative impact on the partiesconcerned by the current anti-dumping measures.
(74)On this basis it was examined whether, despite the conclusionson the likelihood of a recurrence of injurious dumping, compel-ling reasons existed which would lead to the conclusion that it isnot in the Community interest to maintain measures in this parti-
cular case.
2.InterestoftheCommunityindustry
(75)It is considered that, should the anti-dumping measures imposed
in the previous investigation be repealed, injurious dumping islikely to recur and that the situation of the Community industry,which improved during the period under review, would deterio-rate.
3.Interestofimporters
(76)From the 26 questionnaires sent, only one reply was received by
the Commissionservices from animporters' association .
(77)This association argued that the anti-dumping measures led tothe exclusion of both the Chinese and other third country'sproducers from the Community market, thus leading to a depen-
dence of the users on the sole Community producer.
(78)First of all, it should be recalled that the coumarinworld market
is very concentrated with only a few producers the most impor-tant of whom, in terms of capacity, are located in China and in
the Community. Therefore, any market share lost by one of these
two countries producer is likely to be regained by the other.However, it is recalled that the purpose of the anti-dumpingmeasures is not to restrict supply, but to re-establish fair compe-tition on the Community market and that coumarin originating in
the PRC canstill be imported inthe Commun ity market. Inaddi-
tion, it should be noted that, during the IP, around 25 % of allimports of coumarinwas imported from coun tries other thanChina, notably from Japan and India, thus showing that alterna-tive sources of supply continue to exist. Furthermore, in view ofthe low level of cooperation and the fact that importers generally
deal with a wide range of chemical products, of which coumarin
is only one, it was concluded that any possible negative impactof the continuation of measures on importers would not be acompelling reason not to impose the continuation of measures.
4.Interestofusers
(79)Questionnaires and/or information were received from five users
(out of the 23 questionnaires sent).2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 11
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(80)One of these companies is clearly in favour of the continuation
of the measures while another does not expect any change for its
business should the measures be removed or maintained. Thislatter company also underlined the fact that it would not be inthe industry's interest that the Community producer stopsproductionincase of recurren ce of dumped imports.
(81)Two users, of which only one imported the product concerned
from the country concerned during the period under review,
were against the continuation of the measures, but both statedin their responses to the questionnaire that they both do notexpect any effect on their business, should the measures beremoved or maintained.
(82)One other user was also against the prolongation of the
measures. This user argued that the competitionby Chin ese
exporters is indispensable in order to guarantee the security ofsupply at competitive prices. Should competitive prices not beguaranteed, this user may consider moving part of its fragrancecompounding to the PRC resulting in job losses in the Commu-nity. However, given that coumarin represents about 1,5 % of
the total cost of production of this user, it is considered unlikely
that a transfer of the production of certain compounds outsidethe Community would occur simply as a result of the continua-tion of the existing anti-dumping measures, especially since suchtransfer has not occurred during the five years the measures have
beeninforce.
(83)The same user also mentioned the production difficulties
suffered by the Community producer resulting in significantdelivery delays. Although the Community producer facedproduction difficulties during the period under review, thesewere due to particular circumstances that are unlikely to recur
on a regular basis, amongst which, the upgrade of the existing
installation mentioned under recital 47. In addition, the impactof delivery problems on users was found to be minor since, asmentioned under recital 40, the Community producer was ableto import the like product to compensate for the shortage of itsproduction of the product concerned.
(84)Onthe basis of the above, an d inview of the low level of coop-eration, which in itself appears to confirm that users did notsuffer any substantial negative effect on their economic situationas a result of the measures currently in force, the impact on userswas considered not to constitute a compelling reason against thecontinuation of the measures, as a possible negative effect on
users is unlikely to offset the positive effect on the Community
industry.
5.Competitionaspects
(85)Several interested parties argued that the current measures have
led to the elimination of Chinese coumarin on the Community
market, leading to a monopoly position of the Communityindustry. The prolongation of the measures would thus beagainst the interest of the Community.
(86)As already mentioned under recital 51, the Community industryincreased its market share and thus can benefit from a strong
position on the Community market. However, the current inves-
tigationalso established that the effect of the measures was topermit the Community industry to recover that share of theCommunity market which it held before the Chinese dumpingpractices began.
(87)Moreover, it should be noted that the world market for coumarin
is characterised by operationof on ly a few producers. Insuch a
situation, competition aspects have to be followed with particularcare, giventhat the effect of the measures onthese suppliers canhave a considerable importance. However, the investigation hasfound no indication as to any anti-competitive practices of theCommunity producer. In this context, it should be underlined2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 12
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that its sales prices decreased over the period under review.
Furthermore, several alternative sources of supply still existsince coumarin is or can be imported from several countries
amongst which are Japan and India which still hold non-negli-
gible shares of the Community market.
(88)On the basis of the above, it has been concluded that any compe-
tition-related concerns were considered not to constitute a
compelling reason against the continuation of the measures.
6.ConclusiononCommunityinterest
(89)Given the above, it was concluded that there are no compelling
reasons of Community interest against the continuation of themeasures.
I.ANTI-DUMPINGMEASURES
(90)All parties concerned were informed of the essential facts and
considerations on the basis of which it was intended to recom-mend the maintenance of the existing anti-dumping duty inrespect of imports of coumarin originating in the PRC. They
were also granted a period within which to make representations
subsequent to this disclosure. No comments were received whichwere of a nature to change the above conclusions.
(91)It follows from the above that the anti-dumping measures
currently in force with regard to imports of coumarin originating
in the People's Republic of China should be maintained,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. A definitive anti-dumping duty is hereby imposed on imports of
coumarinfallin g withinCN code ex 2932 21 00 (TARIC code2932 21 0010) originating in the People's Republic of China.
2. The rate of the duty is set at EUR 3 479 per tonne.
3. In cases where goods have been damaged before entry into free
circulationan d, therefore, the price actually paid or payable is appor-
tioned for the determination of the customs value pursuant to Article
145 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93, the amount of the anti-dumpingduty, calculated onthe basis of the amoun ts set above, shall be reducedby a percentage which corresponds to the apportioning of the priceactually paid or payable.
Article 2
Unless otherwise specified, the provisions in force concerning customs
duties shall apply.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publica-
tioninthe Official Journal of the European Communities .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
inall Member States.2002R0769 — EN — 24.10.2003 — 001.001 — 13
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