EN Official Journal of the European Union C 200/3

Notice concerning an exemption granted to one company in Taiwan from the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of glyphosate consigned from Taiwan

(2005/C 200/03)

The Commission has received information concerning a Taiwanese company that was granted an exemption from anti-dumping measures which were extended in 2002 to imports of glyphosate consigned from Taiwan.

1. Product and existing measures

The product concerned is glyphosate falling within CN codes ex 2931 00 95 and ex 3808 30 27.

The Council, by Regulation (EC) No 368/98 (1), imposed definitive anti-dumping measures on imports of glyphosate originating in the People's Republic of China (the ‘PRC’). In January 2002, following an anti-circumvention investigation pursuant to Article 13 of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (2) (‘the basic Regulation’), the Council, by Regulation (EC) No 163/2002 (3), extended the duty imposed on imports of glyphosate originating in the PRC, to imports of glyphosate consigned from Malaysia and Taiwan (whether declared as originating in Malaysia or Taiwan or not), with the exception of those produced by Sinon Corporation in Taiwan and one named company in Malaysia.

Following reviews under Article 11(2) and (3) of the basic Regulation, the Council, by Regulation (EC) No 1683/2004 (4), imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of glyphosate originating in the PRC and extended this duty to imports of glyphosate consigned from Malaysia and Taiwan (whether declared as originating in Malaysia or Taiwan or not), again with the exception of those produced by Sinon Corporation in Taiwan and one named company in Malaysia.

2. Recent developments

The Commission has received information in the form of a report from a leading company specializing in the supply of company-specific information relating to, inter alia, matters such as shareholdings, indicating the existence of a relationship between Sinon Corporation and a second Taiwanese company. This second Taiwanese company, which is also involved in the export of glyphosate, did not cooperate in the abovementioned anti-circumvention investigation and is, therefore, subject to the extended measures. Sinon Corporation did not disclose or acknowledge the existence of any relationship with the second Taiwanese company either at the time of the anti-circumvention investigation or since then.

The existence of a relationship between Sinon Corporation and a company also involved in the export of glyphosate that did not cooperate during the anti-circumvention investigation would, if confirmed at the time of that investigation, have excluded the possibility of granting an exemption from the extended duties to Sinon Corporation. The retroactive withdrawal of the exemption might therefore be required, if it was based on wrong or misleading information provided by Sinon Corporation. Similarly, a relationship established subsequent to the granting of the exemption between Sinon Corporation and a company subject to the extended measures, may, if confirmed, require the withdrawal of that exemption. In view of the above, it should be examined whether in fact Sinon Corporation met all the conditions for exemption from the measures extended to imports of glyphosate consigned from Taiwan at the time the exemption was granted and, if so, if it continued to meet these conditions until today.

3. Procedure

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for this examination, the Commission will send a copy of this notice and a questionnaire to Sinon Corporation and inform the Taiwanese authorities accordingly. This information and supporting evidence should reach the Commission within 21 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

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 21 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

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 21 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

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, and/or telex 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 labeled as ‘Limited’ (5) and, in accordance with Article 19(2) of the basic Regulation, shall be accompanied by a non-confidential version, which will be labeled ‘FOR INSPECTION BY INTERESTED PARTIES’.

Commission address for correspondence:

European Commission Directorate General for Trade Directorate B Office: J-79 5/16 B-1049 Brussels Fax (32-2) 295 65 05.

4. Non-cooperation

In cases in which any interested party refuses access to or otherwise does not provide the necessary information within the time limits, or significantly impedes the examination, 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 of the 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 favorable to the party than if it had cooperated.

(1) OJ L 47, 18.2.1998, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1086/2000 (OJ L 124, 25.5.2000, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 461/2004 (OJ L 77, 13.3.2004, p. 12).

(3) OJ L 30, 31.1.2002, p. 1.

(4) OJ L 303, 30.9.2004, p. 1.

(5) 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 (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43). It is a confidential document pursuant to Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 (OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1) and Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-dumping Agreement).