EN Official Journal of the European Union C 291/7

Notice of reopening the anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in Taiwan

(2016/C 291/07)

The European Commission (‘the Commission’) has received a request pursuant to Article 12 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 of 30 November 2009 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (1) (‘the basic Regulation’), to investigate whether the anti-dumping measures imposed on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products, originating in Taiwan, have had an effect on export prices, resale prices or subsequent selling prices in the Union.

1. Request for an absorption reinvestigation

The request was lodged on 28 June 2016 by the European Steel Association — ‘Eurofer’ (‘the applicant’) on behalf of producers representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products.

2. Product under investigation

The product under investigation is defined as flat-rolled products of stainless steel, not further worked than cold-rolled (cold-reduced), currently falling within CN codes 7219 31 00, 7219 32 10, 7219 32 90, 7219 33 10, 7219 33 90, 7219 34 10, 7219 34 90, 7219 35 10, 7219 35 90, 7220 20 21, 7220 20 29, 7220 20 41, 7220 20 49, 7220 20 81 and 7220 20 89 and originating in Taiwan (‘the product under investigation’).

3. Existing Measures

The measures currently in force are a definitive anti-dumping duty imposed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1429 of 26 August 2015 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan (2).

4. Grounds for an absorption reinvestigation

The applicant has submitted sufficient evidence showing that after the original investigation period and prior to and following the imposition of the anti-dumping duties on imports of the product under investigation, export prices have decreased. This has impeded the intended remedial effects of the measures in force. The evidence contained in the request indicates that the decrease in prices cannot be explained by changes in raw material prices, energy costs, labour costs, duty rates or exchange rates.

Furthermore, the applicant has provided evidence showing that imports of the product under investigation have continued to enter the Union in significant volumes.

5. Procedure

Having determined, after informing the Member States and notifying Taiwan, that the request has been lodged by or on behalf of the Union industry and that there is sufficient evidence of absorption, the Commission hereby reopens the investigation pursuant to Article 12 of the basic Regulation.

5.1. Reinvestigating exporters and exporting producers

5.1.1. Procedure for selecting exporters and exporting producers to be reinvestigated in Taiwan

(a) Sampling

In view of the potentially large number of exporters and exporting producers in Taiwan (‘the country concerned’) involved in this proceeding and in order to complete the absorption reinvestigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit the exporters and exporting producers to be reinvestigated to a reasonable number by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary, and if so, to select a sample, all exporters and exporting producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, are hereby requested to make themselves known to the Commission. These parties have to do so within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified, by providing the Commission with information on their company(ies) requested in Annex I to this Notice. Within the same deadline, these parties have to inform the Commission whether they request a revision of the normal value under Article 12(5) of the basic Regulation. Where the absorption reinvestigation involves a re-examination of normal values, imports may be made subject to registration in accordance with Article 14(5) of the basic Regulation pending the outcome of the reinvestigation.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of exporters and exporting producers, the Commission will also contact the authorities of the country concerned and may contact any known associations of exporters and exporting producers.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample, excluding the information requested above, must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

If a sample is necessary, the exporters and exporting producers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of exports to the Union which can reasonably be investigated within the time available, taking into account the sample and the individual examination in the original investigation. All known exporters and exporting producers, the authorities of the country concerned and associations of exporters and exporting producers will be notified by the Commission, via the authorities of the country concerned if appropriate, of the companies selected to be in the sample.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its reinvestigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the exporters and exporting producers selected to be in the sample, to any known association of exporters and exporting producers, and to the authorities of the country concerned.

All exporters and exporting producers selected to be in the sample will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified. Parties which requested a revision of the normal value and were selected to be in the sample will have to provide, within the same deadline, complete information on normal values, duly substantiated by evidence.

Without prejudice to the possible application of Article 18 of the basic Regulation, companies that have agreed to their possible inclusion in the sample but are not selected to be in the sample will be considered to be cooperating (‘non-sampled cooperating exporting producers’).

5.2. Investigating unrelated importers (3)

Unrelated importers of the product under investigation from the country concerned to the Union are invited to participate in this reinvestigation.

In view of the potentially large number of unrelated importers involved in this proceeding and in order to complete the reinvestigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit to a reasonable number the unrelated importers that will be reinvestigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all unrelated importers, or representatives acting on their behalf, are hereby requested to make themselves known to the Commission. These parties must do so within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified, by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex II to this Notice.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of unrelated importers, the Commission may also contact any known associations of importers.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample, excluding the information requested above, must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under investigation in the Union which can reasonably be reinvestigated within the time available. All known unrelated importers and associations of importers will be notified by the Commission of the companies selected to be in the sample.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its reinvestigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled unrelated importers and to any known association of importers. These parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

5.3. Other written submissions

Subject to the provisions of this Notice, all interested parties are hereby invited to make their views known, submit information and provide supporting evidence. Unless otherwise specified, this information and supporting evidence must reach the Commission within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

5.4. Possibility to be heard by the Commission investigation services

All interested parties may request to be heard by the Commission investigation services. Any request to be heard should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the investigation the request must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within the specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties.

5.5. Instructions for making written submissions and sending completed questionnaires and correspondence

Information submitted to the Commission for the purpose of trade defence investigations shall be free from copyrights. Interested parties, before submitting to the Commission information and/or data which is subject to third party copyrights, must request specific permission to the copyright holder explicitly allowing a) the Commission to use the information and data for the purpose of this trade defence proceeding and b) to provide the information and/or data to interested parties to this reinvestigation in a form that allows them to exercise their rights of defence.

All written submissions, including the information requested in this Notice, completed questionnaires and correspondence provided by interested parties for which confidential treatment is requested shall be labelled ‘Limited’ (4).

Interested parties providing ‘Limited’ information are required to furnish non-confidential summaries of it pursuant to Article 19(2) of the basic Regulation, which will be labelled ‘For inspection by interested parties’. These summaries should be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence. If an interested party providing confidential information does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, such information may be disregarded.

Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests by email including scanned powers of attorney and certification sheets, with the exception of voluminous replies which shall be submitted on a CD-ROM or DVD by hand or by registered mail. By using email, interested parties express their agreement with the rules applicable to electronic submissions contained in the document ‘CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN TRADE DEFENCE CASES’ published on the website of the Directorate-General for Trade: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/june/tradoc_148003.pdf The interested parties must indicate their name, address, telephone and a valid email address and they should ensure that the provided email address is a functioning official business email which is checked on a daily basis. Once contact details are provided, the Commission will communicate with interested parties by email only, unless they explicitly request to receive all documents from the Commission by another means of communication or unless the nature of the document to be sent requires the use of a registered mail. For further rules and information concerning correspondence with the Commission including principles that apply to submissions by email, interested parties should consult the communication instructions with interested parties referred to above.

Commission address for correspondence:

European Commission Directorate-General for Trade Directorate H Office: CHAR 04/039 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel BELGIQUE/BELGIË E-mail: TRADE-SSCR-TW-ABSORPTION@ec.europa.eu

6. Non-cooperation

In cases where any interested party refuses access to or does not provide the necessary information within the time limits, or significantly impedes the reinvestigation, findings, affirmative or negative, may be made on the basis of facts available, in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation.

Where it is found that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, the information may be disregarded and use may be made of facts available.

If an interested party does not cooperate or cooperates only partially and findings are therefore based on facts available in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation, the result may be less favourable to that party than if it had cooperated.

Failure to give a computerised response shall not be deemed to constitute non-cooperation, provided that the interested party shows that presenting the response as requested would result in an unreasonable extra burden or unreasonable additional cost. The interested party should immediately contact the Commission.

7. Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer in trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer acts as an interface between the interested parties and the Commission investigation services. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and requests by third parties to be heard. The Hearing Officer may organise a hearing with an individual interested party and mediate to ensure that the interested parties' rights of defence are being fully exercised.

A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the reinvestigation the request must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties.

The Hearing Officer will also provide opportunities for a hearing involving parties to take place which would allow different views to be presented and rebuttal arguments offered on issues pertaining, among other things, to dumping and injury.

For further information and contact details interested parties may consult the Hearing Officer's web pages on DG Trade's website: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/trade-policy-and-you/contacts/hearing-officer/

8. Schedule of the reinvestigation

The reinvestigation will be concluded, pursuant to Article 12 of the basic Regulation within 9 months of the date of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

9. Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this reinvestigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (5).

(1) OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 51, replaced by Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union (OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 21).

(2) OJ L 224, 27.8.2015, p. 10.

(3) Only importers not related to exporting producers can be sampled. Importers that are related to exporting producers have to fill in Annex I to the questionnaire for these exporting producers. In accordance with Article 127 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, two persons shall be deemed to be related if: (a) they are officers or directors of the other person's business; (b) they are legally recognised partners in business; (c) they are employer and employee; (d) a third party directly or indirectly owns, controls or holds 5 % or more of the outstanding voting stock or shares of both of them; (e) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (f) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; (g) together they control a third person directly or indirectly; or (h) they are members of the same family (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558). Persons shall be deemed to be members of the same family only if they stand in any of the following relationships to one another: (i) husband and wife, (ii) parent and child, (iii) brother and sister (whether by whole or half blood), (iv) grandparent and grandchild, (v) uncle or aunt and nephew or niece, (vi) parent-in-law and son-in-law or daughter-in-law, (vii) brother-in-law and sister-in-law. In accordance with Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, ‘person’ means a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Union or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).

(4) A ‘Limited’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 19 of the basic Regulation and Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement). It is also a document protected pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).

(5) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

ANNEX I Text of image ☐ ‘Limited’ version (1) ☐ Version ‘For inspection by interested parties’ (tick the appropriate box) ABSORPTION REINVESTIGATION OF THE ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES CONCERNING IMPORTS OF STAINLESS STEEL COLD-ROLLED FLAT PRODUCTS ORIGINATING IN TAIWAN INFORMATION FOR THE SELECTION OF THE SAMPLE OF EXPORTERS AND EXPORTING PRODUCERS IN TAIWAN This form is designed to assist exporters and exporting producers (2) in Taiwan in responding to the request for sampling information made in Section 5.1 of the notice of initiation. Both the ‘Limited’ version and the version ‘For inspection by interested parties’ should be returned to the Commission as set out in the notice of initiation. 1. IDENTITY AND CONTACT DETAILS Supply the following details about your company: Company name Address Contact person E-mail address Telephone Fax 2. TURNOVER AND SALES VOLUME Indicate the turnover in the accounting currency of the company during the original investigation period (‘IP’) (1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013) as well as during the absorption reinvestigation period (1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016) for sales (export sales to the Union (3), sales for domestic consumption and export sales to countries other than Member States of the Union separately and in total) of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products as defined in the notice of initiation and the corresponding weight or volume. State the unit of weight or volume and the currency used. Original investigation Period Absorption Reinvestigation Period Tonnes Value in accounting currency [Specify the currency used] Tonnes Value in accounting currency [Specify the currency used] Production volume Direct export sales to the Union (1), for each of the 28 Member States separately and in total, of the product under investigation, manufactured by your company (1) This document is for internal use only. It is protected pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43). It is a confidential document pursuant to Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union (OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 21) and Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement). (2) Exporter is a trader or a service centre who exports the product under investigation purchased from a producer; exporting producer is the producer of the product under investigation with at least cold-rolling facility who exports directly or sales this product for export to a trader or a service centre. (3) The 28 Member States of the European Union are: Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Croatia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Text of image Original investigation Period Absorption Reinvestigation Period Tonnes Value in accounting currency [Specify the currency used] Tonnes Value in accounting currency [Specify the currency used] Direct export sales to the Union (1), for each of the 28 Member States separately and in total, of the product under investigation, purchased from a third party Sales of the product under investigation on the Taiwanese market, intended for domestic consumption, manufactured by your company Sales of the product under investigation on the Taiwanese market, intended for domestic consumption, purchased from a third party Sales of the product under investigation on the Taiwanese market, intended for export to the Union, purchased from a third party Sales of the product under investigation on the Taiwanese market, intended for export to the Union, manufactured by your company Sales of the product under investigation on the Taiwanese market, for export to other than the Union countries, manufactured by your company Sales of the product under investigation on the Taiwanese market, for export to other than the Union countries, purchased from a third party Direct Export sales to countries other than the Union (separately and in total) of the product under investigation, manufactured by your company (1) Direct export sales to the Union, made by the exporter/exporting producer or its related party themselves, where it can be clearly documented that the product under investigation was exported to the Union. 3. ACTIVITIES OF YOUR COMPANY AND RELATED COMPANIES (1) Give details of the precise activities of the company and all related companies (please list them and state the relationship to your company) involved in the production and/or selling (export and/or domestic) of the product under investigation. Such activities could include but are not limited to purchasing the product under investigation or producing it under sub-contracting arrangements, or processing or trading the product under investigation. Company name and location Activities Relationship (1) In accordance with Article 127 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, two persons shall be deemed to be related if: (a) they are officers or directors of the other person’s business; (b) they are legally recognised partners in business; (c) they are employer and employee; (d) a third party directly or indirectly owns, controls or holds 5 % or more of the outstanding voting stock or shares of both of them; (e) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (f) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; (g) together they control a third person directly or indirectly; or (h) they are members of the same family (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558). Persons shall be deemed to be members of the same family only if they stand in any of the following relationships to one another: (i) husband and wife, (ii) parent and child, (iii) brother and sister (whether by whole or half blood), (iv) grandparent and grandchild, (v) uncle or aunt and nephew or niece, (vi) parent-in-law and son-in-law or daughter-in-law, (vii) brother-in-law and sister-in-law. In accordance with Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, ‘person’ means a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Union or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1). Text of image Define the activities of your company (Producer or Service centre or Trader) What is the main input your company uses when producing the product under investigation? Does your company have the facility to turn hot-rolled coil (including No 1) into cold rolled coil (e.g. mill, sendzimir mill)? Does your company have a re-rolling facility (used to further reduce the thickness of cold rolled coil)? 4. OTHER INFORMATION Please provide any other relevant information which the company considers useful to assist the Commission in the selection of the sample. If your company is an exporting producer, do you request a re-examination of your normal value? 5. CERTIFICATION By providing the above information, the company agrees to its possible inclusion in the sample. If the company is selected to be part of the sample, this will involve completing a questionnaire and accepting a visit at its premises in order to verify its response. If the company indicates that it does not agree to its possible inclusion in the sample, it will be deemed not to have cooperated in the reinvestigation. The Commission’s findings for non-cooperating exporters and exporting producers are based on facts available and the result may be less favourable to that company than if it had cooperated. Signature of authorised official: Name and title of authorised official: Date: