COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 10.11.1997 
COM(97) 568 final 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) 
repealing Regulation (EEC) No 611/93 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on 
imports into the Community of certain electronic microcircuits known as DRAMs 
originating in the Republic of Korea 
(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
(1) It is hereby proposed that the Commission submit to the Council the attached draft 
Regulation according to which the anti-dumping duty on imports of DRAMs 
(dynamic random access memories) originating in the Republic of Korea will be 
repealed and the anti-dumping proceeding be terminated respectively. 
Consequently, the corresponding undertakings offered by Korean exporters and 
accepted by the Commission will have no further purpose. 
(2) As regards imports of DRAMs originating in Japan, a proposal is being made to the 
Commission to terminate the proceeding thus allowing the measures currently in 
force to expire. 
(3) The attached proposal to repeal the anti-dumping duty results from the withdrawal 
by the complainant of its support for the continuation of the measures. The 
complainant considered it appropriate to take this step in view of the envisaged 
negotiation of voluntary industry-to-industry agreements between the complainant 
Community industry and the Japanese and Korean associations of DRAM 
producers, the aim of which is to prevent the future occurrence of injurious 
dumping and to ensure that, should any anti-dumping investigation be initiated, it 
may be carried out expeditiously. These negotiations are welcomed by the 
Commission. The Community industry has committed itself to notifying any future 
agreement to the competition services of the Commission. 
(4) Several Community users of DRAMS have requested that the anti-dumping duty be 
repealed retroactively as from 10 March 1997, i.e. the date on which the duty was 
reinstated after expiry of the suspension of measures. In this respect, it is 
considered that no general principles of Community law justify this request in the 
present case. 
(5) Interested parties were informed of the reasons why it is intended to propose the 
repeal of the anti-dumping duty. After having considered all the various interests 
involved taken as a whole, it was concluded that the repeal of the anti-dumping 
duty and the termination of the proceeding is not against the Community interest. 
(6) The Advisory Committee of Member States was duly consulted and a majority of 
delegations expressed support for the Commission's proposal. Nevertheless, four 
Member States objected to the termination of the proceeding on the grounds that 
termination would be premature at present since the negotiations between the 
Community industry and the Japanese and Korean associations of DRAM 
producers have yet to be concluded. However, given the withdrawal of support by 
the complainant, the only appropriate course of action is to terminate the 
proceeding immediately. 
(7) It is therefore proposed that the Commission adopt the attached proposal for a 
Council Regulation and transmit it to the Council, together with the attached report 
on the consultation of the Advisory Committee. 
A 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) 
repealing Regulation (EEC) No 611/93 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on 
Imports into the Community of certain electronic microcircuits known as DRAMs 
originating in the Republic of Korea 
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 as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2331/96,2 and in particular Article 
il(3) thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the 
Advisory Committee, 
Whereas: 
A. PREVIOUS PROCEDURE 
(1) By Decision 93/157/EEC,3 the Commission accepted undertakings from ail known 
Korean DRAM producers which exported this product to the Community. The 
Council, by Regulation (EEC) No 611/93,4-imposed a residual duty on imports of 
DRAMs originating in the Republic of Korea in order to bring non-co-operating 
parties within the scope of the measures against the dumping of DRAMs and to 
underpin the undertakings. 
(2) In June 1995, the Commission decided to suspend the above anti-dumping 
measures for a period of nine months.5 In March 1996, the suspension was 
extended by the Council for a further period of 12 months.6 
Bo REVIEW INVESTIGATION 
(3) In July 1995, the Commission initiated on its own initiative an interim review 
concerning imports of DRAMs originating in Japan and the Republic of Korea 
pursuant to Article 11(3) of Council Regulation. (EC) No 384/96 (hereinafter 
referred to as the 'Basic Regulation').7 
C. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION • 
OJNoL56,6.3. 1996, p. 1. 
OJNoL317,6. 12. 1996, p. 1. 
OJ No L 66, 18. 3.1993, p. 37. 
OJN0L66, 18.3. 1993,p. 1. 
Commission Decision (95/197/EC), OJ No L 126,9. 6. 1995, p. 56. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 399/96, OJ No L 55,6. 3.1996, p. 1. 
OJ Mo C1S1, 15. 7. 1995, p. 13. 
I 
(4) The product concerned by this investigation is dynamic random access memories 
(DRAMs), whether in processed wafer form or dice form, assembled or further 
processed onto modules, manufactured using variations of Metal Oxide 
Semiconductor (MOS) process technology, including CMOS and BiCMOS etc., 
and including, without limitation, product variations using DRAM technology such 
as VRAMs, Pseudo SRAMs, S-DRAMs (synchronous DRAMs), MDRAMs 
(multibank DRAMs), R-DRAMs (RAMBUS-DRAMs), of all densities (including 
future densities), irrespective of access speed, configuration, frame or package, etc. 
(5) The product is currently classifiable under the following CN codes: 8542 13 11, 
8542 13 13, 8542 13 15, 8542 13 17, 8542 19 01, 8542 19 05 (for finished 
DRAMs), 8542 13 01 (for DRAM wafers), 8542 13 05 (for DRAM dice or chips), 
8548 90 00, 8473 30 10 and 8473 50 10 (for DRAM modules, DRAM boards and 
DRAM cards). 
D. DEFINITION OF THE COMMUNITY INDUSTRY 
(6) The Community industry concerned by this review consists of Motorola Ltd (UK), 
Siemens (D) and Texas Instruments Italia (I). All of them co-operated in this 
investigation and are members of the European Electronic Component 
Manufacturers' Association (EECA), which lodged the original complaint. 
(7) The collective output of the above-mentioned Community industry constitutes a 
major proportion of the total Community production of DRAMs in accordance with 
Article 4(1) of the Basic Regulation. 
E. WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT TO THE PROCEEDING 
(8) In July 1997, the Community industry withdrew its support for the continuation of 
the existing anti-dumping measures, (both with respect to imports from Japan and 
from Korea). The complainant considered it appropriate to take this step in view of 
the envisaged negotiation of voluntary industry-to-industry agreements between 
the complainant Community industry and the Japanese and Korean associations of 
DRAM producers, the aim of which is to prevent the future occurrence of injurious 
dumping and to ensure that, should any anti-dumping investigation be initiated, it 
may be carried out expeditiously. The Community industry has committed itself to 
notify the agreements, if any, to the Commission under the competition rules. 
F. REPEAL OF THE ANTI-DUMPING DUTY AND TERMINATION OF 
THE PROCEEDING 
(9) It follows from the principle expressed in Article 9(1) of the Basic Regulation that 
when the Community industry withdraws its support to the continuation of the anti­
dumping measures, the proceeding must be terminated unless such termination 
would not be in the Community interest. The investigation has not brought to light 
any aspects which would support the continuation of the measures in these 
circumstances. 
(10) In view of the above, the Commission informed the interested parties of its 
intention to propose to the Council to repeal the anti-dumping duty in force and to 
3> 
terminate the proceeding following the withdrawal of support. No further 
arguments were raised concerning the Community interest aspects. 
(11) However, several Community users of DRAMs have requested that ths anti­
dumping duty be repealed and the proceeding be terminated retroactively as from 
10 March 1997, i.e. the date on which the anti-dumping duty was reinstated after 
expiry of the suspension of the measures. As a consequence, anti-dumping duties 
paid after this date would have to be reimbursed. 
(12) The users have argued that, following the reinstatement of the anti-dumping duties 
in March 1997, they could not always avoid paying anti-dumping duty by 
purchasing DRAMs through sales channels covered by the undertakings. These 
parties have further claimed that, due to the reference price system of the price 
undertakings, (which were likewise reinstated in March 1997), they had to pay 
higher prices for DRAMs purchased in the Community than competitors in the rest 
of the world. The users concerned have claimed that these circumstances have had 
a negative impact on their competitiveness. 
(13) The users also referred to the disclosure of the preliminary findings of the 
Commission's services. They noted that it had been envisaged by the 
Commission's services that, as regards Japan, a lower residual duty should be 
imposed with retroactive effect from 10 March 1997, the date of the reinstatement 
of the anti-dumping measures. Had the investigation been concluded in this way, 
the difference between the initial and the final duty rate would have been refunded 
to importers which would have paid anti-dumping duty. The users have argued that, 
if retroactivity was considered justified on the hypothesis that the measures would 
be reimposed, then retroactivity would, a fortiori, be justified where the 
investigation was being concluded by the termination of the proceeding. 
(14) With regard to the above-mentioned request, it is considered thai, as the Basic 
Regulation does not provide for the retroactive termination of proceedings, this 
request could only be accepted if justified by general principles of Community law. 
. However, none of these principles apply in the current case. 
(Î5) In one anti-dumping proceeding, the review was terminated retroactively on the 
grounds that the anti-dumping measures had been prolonged by more than three 
years due to the long duration of the (sun-set) review investigation8. However, the 
facts of this case are not comparable to the current proceeding, since this is an 
interim review which took place during the normal five year period. Moreover, the 
anti-dumping measures in the current proceeding were suspended between lune 
1995 and March 1997 s i.e. for all but a few months of the period by which the 
measures were prolonged by the review. The Community user industry, which had 
requested and has benefited from this suspension, thus cannot be considered to 
have been unduly burdened by this review investigation. 
(16) As regards the argument raised by the' users in respect of imports through sales 
channels subject to the residual duties, such difficulties are inherent to the structure 
of the measures, and cannot be considered as-justifying a retroactive termination. 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2655/93, OJ No L 244, 30.9.1993, p. 1 
V 
(17) Moreover, it cannot be accepted that the users were unduly burdened if, as claimed, 
they had to purchase Japanese and Korean DRAMs at prices above the prices 
outside the Community, due to the reference price system. The reference prices, 
which were continuously amended to reflect changes in normal value, ensured only 
that imports covered by the undertakings were not made at dumped prices, and 
sales in third markets at prices below the reference prices can therefore be assumed 
to have been dumped. The fact that dumping in third countries has enabled users in 
those countries to enjoy a competitive advantage over users in the Community is 
not considered a relevant argument for the retroactive repeal of the residual duties. 
(18) Furthermore, it is considered that the users' request cannot be based on the fact that 
the Commission had, in disclosing its provisional findings in the investigation, 
indicated that, in the event of a final determination that the likelihood of a 
recurrence of dumping and injury justified the reimposition of measures, the 
amended anti-dumping duty for Japan could be imposed retroactively. The 
provisional character of these indications was understood by all interested parties, 
so that legitimate expectations could not arise on these grounds. 
(19) In addition, retroactive termination, giving rise to the reimbursement of anti­
dumping duties paid as from 10 March 1997, would discriminate against those 
exporters which adhered to the reference prices set under the undertakings, and 
against those importers who have purchased at these prices. This would be the case 
in particular, if, as the users have submitted, thé prices in the Community had been 
higher than the world market prices, due to the reference price system. 
(20) Finally, it should be noted that any anti-dumping duty paid may always be 
reimbursed through a request for a refund, pursuant to Article 11(8) of the Basic 
Regulation 
(21) In the light of the above, the request for the retroactive repeal of the anti-dumping 
duty is rejected. 
(22) After having considered all the various interests involved taken as a whole, it was 
concluded that the anti-dumping duty on DRAMs from the Republic of Korea 
should be repealed and that the proceeding thereby terminated. Consequently, the 
corresponding undertakings offered by Korean exporters and accepted by 
Commission Decision (93/157/EEC) have no further purpose. 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EEC) No 611/93 is hereby repealed and the proceeding concerning imports 
of DRAMs originating in the Republic of Korea terminated. 
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal 
of the European Communities. 
r 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member 
States 
Done at Brussels, 
For the Council 
£ 
I/262/97-EN 
REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE CONSULTATION OF THE 
ANTI-DUMPING COMMITTEE ON 23 JULY 1997 
Subject: Anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of DRAMs 
(dynamic random access memories) originating in Japan and the 
Republic of Korea - termination of the proceedings and repeal 
ot the anti-dumping duties in force 
1) The present anti-dumping review investigation was initiated on 15 July 1995. 
The basic regulation applicable is Council Regulation (EC) N° 384/96 of 22 
December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not 
members of the European Community. 
2) The Commission presented its conclusions in the above mentioned investigation 
to the members of the Anti-Dumping Advisory Committee on 23 July 1997, 
where it proposed that the proceedings be terminated. The Commission's proposal 
was based on the withdrawal of support for the continuation of the measures by 
the complainant in the proceedings. Their decision is to be seen against the 
background of the prospect of securing an industry-to-industry agreement on data 
collection between the complainant Community industry and the Japanese and 
Korean associations of DRAM producers, by means of which the future 
occurrence of dumping should be prevented and any anti-dumping investigation 
expeditiously carried out. The withdrawal of support is considered by the 
Community industry a means to facilitate the négociations concerning the above-
mentioned agreement. 
3) At the meeting the following Member States expressed support for the 
Commission's proposal: Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, United 
Kingdom, Holland, France, Greece, Luxembourg and Spain. Whereas Italy, 
Germany, Austria and Portugal opposed the Commission's proposal. 
4) Lack of unanimity centered around the perceived influence the decision to 
terminate could have on the ongoing negotiations for the industry-to industry data 
collection scheme. 
5) In view of the above mentioned opposition on the part of certain Member States 
to the Commission's proposal, the matter is consequently referred to the Council 
further to Article 9(2) of Council Regulation (EC) N° 384/96. 
6) Enclosed are the Council Regulation repealing the anti-dumping duty on imports 
of DRAMs originating in the Republic of Korea and the Commission Decision 
terminating the anti-dumping proceeding concerning DRAMs originating in 
Japan. It is proposed that the Council adopt the Regulation. With respect to the 
Commission Decision, in accordance with Article 9(2) of the above mentioned 
regulation, the proceedings shall stand terminated if, within one month, the 
Council, acting by a qualified majority has not yet decided otherwise. 
¥ 
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COM(97) 568 final 
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