EN Official Journal of the European Union C 138/42

Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of certain tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel, originating in the People's Republic of China and Thailand and a partial interim review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of certain tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel, originating in the People's Republic of China and those consigned from Taiwan, whether declared as originating in Taiwan or not

(2008/C 138/12)

Following the publication of a notice of impending expiry (1) of the anti-dumping measures in force on imports of certain tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel, originating in the People's Republic of China and Thailand, (‘countries concerned’), the Commission has received a request for reviews pursuant to Article 11(2) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (‘the basic Regulation’) (2).

1. Request for review

The request was lodged on 5 March 2008 by the Defence Committee of the Steel Butt-Welding Fittings Industry of the European Union (‘the applicant’) on behalf of producers representing a major proportion, in this case more than 25 % of the total Community production of certain tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel.

2. Product

The product under review is tube or pipe fittings (other than cast fittings, flanges and threaded fittings) of iron or steel (not including stainless steel), with a greatest external diameter not exceeding 609,6 mm, of a kind used for butt-welding or other purposes, originating in the People's Republic of China and Thailand (‘the product concerned’), currently classifiable within CN codes ex 7307 93 11, ex 7307 93 19, ex 7307 99 30 and ex 7307 99 90. These CN codes are given only for information.

3. Existing measures

The measures currently in force are definitive anti-dumping duties imposed by Council Regulation (EC) No 964/2003 (3) on imports of certain tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel, originating in the People's Republic of China and Thailand, and those consigned from Taiwan, whether declared as originating in Taiwan or not as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1496/2004 (4).

4. Grounds for the reviews

4.1. Grounds for the expiry review

The request is based on the grounds that the expiry of measures would be likely to result in continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury to the Community industry.

In view of the provisions of Article 2(7) of the basic Regulation, normal value was established for the People's Republic of China on the basis of the price in an appropriate market economy country, which is mentioned in point 5.1(d). The likelihood of continuation of dumping is based on a comparison of normal value, established as set out in the preceding sentence, with the export prices of the product concerned when sold for export to the Community.

On this basis, the dumping margin calculated is significant.

Furthermore, the applicant points out that during the period of imposition of measures, the exporters/producers of the product concerned from the People's Republic of China tried to undermine the existing measures by circumvention practices which were counteracted by Council Regulations (EC) No 763/2000 (5), (EC) No 2052/2004 (6), (EC) No 2053/2004 (6) and (EC) No 655/2006 (7).

The allegation of likelihood of continuation of dumping with respect to Thailand is based on a comparison of a constructed normal value, established on the basis of cost of production, with the export prices of the product concerned when sold for export to the Community.

The applicant has provided evidence that imports of the product concerned from the People's Republic of China and Thailand have continued to enter in significant quantities, and that such quantities would be likely to remain at their current levels, if not increase inter alia due to the measures in force on imports of the product originating in the countries concerned in traditional markets other than the EU (i.e. the USA) and the existence of unused capacity in the countries concerned.

The applicant allege that the current improved situation with regard to injury is mainly due to the existence of measures and that any continuation or recurrence of substantial imports at dumped prices from the countries concerned would likely lead to a recurrence of injury of the Community industry should measures be allowed to lapse.

4.2. Grounds for the interim review

The applicant has provided information that, with regard to imports of the product concerned from the People's Republic of China, the measure is no longer sufficient to counteract the injurious dumping, in particular as far as the extension of the measure to imports consigned from Taiwan is concerned. The applicant has provided prima facie evidence that the exemption of imports produced by Chup Hsin Enterprise Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) and Niang Hong Pipe Fittings Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) from the extended measure is no longer justified as these companies appear to be engaged in circumvention practices such as transshipment of certain tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel, originating in the People's Republic of China via Taiwan.

5. Procedure

Having determined, after consulting the Advisory Committee, that sufficient evidence exists to justify the initiation of an expiry review and a partial interim review, limited to the exemption of certain tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel produced by Chup Hsin Enterprise Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) and Niang Hong Pipe Fittings Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) from the extension of the anti-dumping measures imposed on imports originating in the People's Republic of China to imports consigned from Taiwan, the Commission hereby initiates reviews in accordance with Article 11(2) and (3) of the basic Regulation.

5.1. Procedure for the expiry and interim reviews

The investigation will determine whether the expiry of the measures would be likely, or unlikely, to lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury. The interim review will determine whether, with regard to imports of the product concerned consigned from Taiwan, the exemption of certain tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel produced by Chup Hsin Enterprise Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) and Niang Hong Pipe Fittings Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) from the extension of the anti-dumping measures imposed on imports originating in the People's Republic of China to imports consigned from Taiwan is still justified to counteract the injurious dumping.

(a) Sampling

In view of the apparent number of parties involved in this proceeding, the Commission may decide to apply sampling, in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

(i) Sampling for exporters/producers in the People's Republic of China

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all exporters/producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, are hereby requested to make themselves known by contacting the Commission and providing the following information on their company or companies within the time limit set in point 6(b)(i) and in the formats indicated in point 7:

— name, address, e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers and contact person,

— the turnover in local currency and the volume in tonnes of the product concerned sold for export to the Community during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the turnover in local currency and the sales volume in tonnes of the product concerned sold on the domestic market during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the turnover in local currency and the sales volume in tonnes for the product concerned sold to other third countries during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the precise activities of the company with regard to the production of the product concerned and the production volume in tonnes of the product concerned, the production capacity and the investments in production capacity during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the names and the precise activities of all related companies (8) involved in the production and/or selling (export and/or domestic) of the product concerned,

— any other relevant information that would assist the Commission in the selection of the sample.

By providing the above information, the company agrees to its possible inclusion in the sample. If the company is chosen to be part of the sample, this will imply replying to a questionnaire and accepting an on-the-spot investigation of its response. If the company indicates that it does not agree to its possible inclusion or inclusion in the sample, it will be deemed to not have co-operated in the investigation. The consequences of non-cooperation are set out in point 8 below.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of exporters/producers, the Commission will, in addition, contact the authorities of the exporting countries, and any known associations of exporters/producers.

(ii) Sampling for importers

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all importers of the product concerned into the Community, or representatives acting on their behalf, are hereby requested to make themselves known to the Commission and to provide the following information on their company or companies within the time limit set in point 6(b)(i) and in the formats indicated in point 7:

— name, address, e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers and contact person,

— the total turnover in euro of the company during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the total number of employees,

— the precise activities of the company with regard to the product concerned,

— the volume in tonnes and value in euro of imports into and resales made in the Community market during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 of the imported product concerned originating in the People's Republic of China and Thailand or consigned from Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, whether declared as originating in Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines or not,

— the names and the precise activities of all related companies involved in the production and/or selling of the product concerned (9),

— any other relevant information that would assist the Commission in the selection of the sample.

By providing the above information, the company agrees to its possible inclusion in the sample. If the company is chosen to be part of the sample, this will imply replying to a questionnaire and accepting an on-the-spot investigation of its response. If the company indicates that it does not agree to its possible inclusion or inclusion in the sample, it will be deemed to not have co-operated in the investigation. The consequences of non-cooperation are set out in point 8 below.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of importers, the Commission will, in addition, contact any known associations of importers.

(iii) Sampling for Community producers

In view of the large number of Community producers supporting the request, the Commission intends to investigate injury to the Community industry by applying sampling. In order to enable the Commission to select a sample, all Community producers are hereby requested to provide the following information on their company or companies within the time limit set in point 6(b)(i) and in the formats indicated in point 7:

— name, address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers, and contact person,

— the total turnover in euro of the company during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the precise activities of the company with regard to the product concerned,

— the value in EUR of sales of the product concerned made in the Community market during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the volume in tonnes of sales of the product concerned made in the Community market during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the volume in tonnes of the production of the product concerned during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008,

— the names and the precise activities of all related companies (9) involved in the production and/or selling of the product concerned,

— any other relevant information that would assist the Commission in the selection of the sample.

By providing the above information, the company agrees to its possible inclusion in the sample. If the company is chosen to be part of the sample, this implies replying to a questionnaire and accepting an on-the-spot investigation of its response. If the company indicates that it does not agree to its possible inclusion or inclusion in the sample, it will be deemed to not have co-operated in the investigation. The consequences of non-cooperation are set out in point 8 below.

(iv) Final selection of the samples

All interested parties wishing to submit any relevant information regarding the selection of the samples must do so within the time limit set in point 6(b)(ii).

The Commission intends to make the final selection of the samples after having consulted the parties concerned that have expressed their willingness to be included in the samples.

Companies included in the samples must reply to a questionnaire within the time limit set in point 6(b)(iii) and must co-operate within the framework of the investigation.

If sufficient co-operation is not forthcoming, the Commission may base its findings, in accordance with Articles 17(4) and 18 of the basic Regulation, on the facts available. A finding based on facts available may be less advantageous to the party concerned, as explained in point 8.

(b) Questionnaires

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled Community industry and to any association of producers in the Community, to the sampled exporters/producers in the People's Republic of China, to the exporters/producers in Thailand, to Chup Hsin Enterprise Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) and Niang Hong Pipe Fittings Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung (Taiwan), to any association of exporters/producers, to the sampled importers, to any association of importers named in the request or which co-operated in the investigation leading to the measures subject to the present review, to any known user or user association and to the authorities of the exporting countries concerned.

(c) Collection of information and holding of hearings

All interested parties are hereby invited to make their views known, submit information other than questionnaire replies and to provide supporting evidence. This information and supporting evidence must reach the Commission within the time limit set in point 6(a)(ii).

Furthermore, the Commission may hear interested parties, provided that they make a request showing that there are particular reasons why they should be heard. This request must be made within the time limit set in point 6(a)(iii).

(d) Selection of the market economy country

The Commission envisages using the United States of America as an appropriate market economy third country for the purpose of establishing normal value with respect to the People's Republic of China. Interested parties are hereby invited to comment on the appropriateness of this country within the specific time limit set in point 6(c).

5.2. Procedure for the assessment of Community interest

In accordance with Article 21 of the basic Regulation and in the event that the likelihood of a continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury is confirmed, a determination will be made as to whether maintaining the anti-dumping measures would not be against the Community interest. For this reason the Community industry, importers, their representative associations, representative users and representative consumer organisations, provided that they prove that there is an objective link between their activity and the product concerned, may, within the general time limits set in point 6(a)(ii), make themselves known and provide the Commission with information. The parties which have acted in conformity with the previous sentence may request a hearing, setting out the particular reasons why they should be heard, within the time limit set in point 6(a)(iii). It should be noted that any information submitted pursuant to Article 21 of the basic Regulation will only be taken into account if supported by factual evidence at the time of submission.

6. Time limits

(a) General time limits

(i) For parties to request a questionnaire

All interested parties who did not co-operate in the investigation leading to the measures subject to the present review should request a questionnaire or other claim forms as soon as possible, but not later than 15 days after the publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(ii) For parties to make themselves known, to submit questionnaire replies and any other information

All interested parties, if their representations are to be taken into account during the investigation, must make themselves known by contacting the Commission, present their views and submit questionnaire replies or any other information within 40 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. Attention is drawn to the fact that the exercise of most procedural rights set out in the basic Regulation depends on the party's making itself known within the aforementioned period.

Companies selected in a sample must submit questionnaire replies within the time limit specified in point 6(b)(iii).

(iii) Hearings

All interested parties may also apply to be heard by the Commission within the same 40-day time limit.

(b) Specific time limit in respect of sampling

(i) The information specified in point 5.1(a)(i), 5.1(a)(ii) and 5.1(a)(iii) should reach the Commission within 15 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, given that the Commission intends to consult parties concerned that have expressed their willingness to be included in the sample on its final selection within a period of 21 days of the publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(ii) All other information relevant for the selection of the sample as referred to in 5.1(a)(iv) must reach the Commission within a period of 21 days of the publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(iii) The questionnaire replies from sampled parties must reach the Commission within 37 days from the date of the notification of their inclusion in the sample.

(c) Specific time limit for the selection of the market economy country

Parties to the investigation may wish to comment on the appropriateness of the United States of America which, as mentioned in point 5.1(d), is envisaged as a market-economy country for the purpose of establishing normal value in respect of the People's Republic of China. These comments must reach the Commission within 10 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

7. Written submissions, questionnaire replies and correspondence

All submissions and requests made by interested parties must be made in writing (not in electronic format, unless otherwise specified) and must indicate the name, address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers of the interested party. All written submissions, including the information requested in this notice, questionnaire replies and correspondence provided by interested parties on a confidential basis shall be labelled as ‘Limited’ (10) and, in accordance with Article 19(2) of the basic Regulation, shall be accompanied by a non-confidential version, which will be labelled ‘For inspection by interested parties’.

Commission address for correspondence:

European Commission Directorate General for Trade Directorate H Office: J-79 4/23 B-1049 Brussels Fax (32-2) 295 65 05

8. Non-co-operation

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

Where it is found that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, the information shall be disregarded and use may be made, in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation, of the facts available. If an interested party does not cooperate or cooperates only partially, and use of facts available is made, the result may be less favourable to that party than if it had cooperated.

9. Schedule of the investigation

The investigation will be concluded, according to Article 11(5) of the basic Regulation within 15 months of the date of the publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

10. Possibility to request a review under Article 11(3) of the basic Regulation

As this expiry review is initiated in accordance with the provisions of Article 11(2) of the basic Regulation, the findings thereof will not lead to the level of the existing measures being amended but will lead to those measures being repealed or maintained in accordance with Article 11(6) of the basic Regulation. However, the interim review which is also initiated by this notice may lead to the termination of the exemption from duties for the two companies mentioned in point 4.2.

If any party to the proceeding considers that a review of the level of the measures is warranted so as to allow for the possibility to amend (i.e. increase or decrease) the level of the measures, that party may request a review in accordance with Article 11(3) of the basic Regulation.

Parties wishing to request such a review, which would be carried out independently of the expiry review mentioned in this notice, may contact the Commission at the address given above.

11. Processing of personal data

It is noted that any personal data collected in this investigation 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 (11).

12. Hearing Officer

It is also noted that if interested parties consider that they are encountering difficulties in the exercise of their rights of defence, they may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer of DG Trade. He acts as an interface between the interested parties and the Commission services, offering, where necessary, mediation on procedural matters affecting the protection of their interests in this proceeding, in particular with regard to issues concerning access to the file, confidentiality, extension of time limits and the treatment of written and/or oral submission of views. For further information and contact details, interested parties may consult the Hearing Officer's web pages on the website of DG Trade (http://ec.europa.eu/trade).

(1) OJ C 238, 10.10.2007, p. 20.

(2) OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2117/2005 (OJ L 340, 23.12.2005, p. 17).

(3) OJ L 139, 6.6.2003, p. 1.

(4) OJ L 275, 25.8.2004, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 94, 14.4.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2314/2000 (OJ L 267, 20.10.2000, p. 15).

(6) OJ L 355, 1.12.2004, p. 4.

(7) OJ L 116, 29.4.2006, p. 1.

(8) For guidance on the meaning of related companies, please refer to Article 143 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1).

(9) For guidance on the meaning of related companies, please refer to Article 143 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93.

(10) This means that the 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 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43). It is a confidential document 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).

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