COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 16.07.1996 
COM(96) 348 final 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION CEO 
IMPOSING A DEFINITIVE ANTI­
DUMPING DUTY ON IMPORTS OF POLYESTER STAPLE FIBRE 
ORIGINATING IN BELARUS AND COLLECTING DEFINITIVELY THE 
PROVISIONAL DUTY IMPOSED 
(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
1. In March 1996, by Regulation (EC) N° 394/96, the Commission imposed a 
provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of polyester staple fibre originating in 
Belarus. 
2. By Regulation (EC) N° 1050/96, the Council extended the validity of this duty for 
a period of two months until 7 September 1996. 
3. No further substantiated arguments have been made by any of the parties 
concerned regarding the Commission's provisional findings on the product under 
consideration, on the like product, on dumping, Community industry, injury, 
causation of injury and Community interest. 
4. In these circumstances, and since the dumping margin found is lower than the 
increase in export prices necessary to remove the injury, it is considered necessary 
that definitive measures, based on the dumping margin established, should be 
imposed in the form and at the level of the provisional measures. 
It is therefore proposed that the Council adopts the draft Regulation annexed, 
imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports into the Community of 
polyester staple fibre originating in Belarus, and collecting definitively the 
amounts secured by way of the provisional duty. 
z 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) 
IMPOSING A DEFINITIVE ANTI­
DUMPING DUTY ON IMPORTS OF POLYESTER STAPLE FIBRE 
ORIGINATING IN BELARUS AND COLLECTING DEFINITIVELY THE 
PROVISIONAL DUTY IMPOSED 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, 
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) N° 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection 
against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community1, and 
in particular Article 23 thereof, 
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) N° 2423/88 of II July 1988 on protection 
against dumped or subsidized imports from countries not members of the European 
Economic Community2, as last amended by Regulation (EC) N° 522/943, and in 
particular Article 12 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the 
Advisory Committee, 
WHEREAS: 
lOJN°L56, 06.03.1996, p. 1. 
2 OJ 1M° L 209,02.08.1988, p. 1. 
3OJN°L66, 10.03.1994, p. 10. 
A. PROVISIONAL MEASURES 
(1) By Regulation (EC) N° 394/964 of 4 March 1996 (hereinafter "the provisional duty 
Regulation"), the Commission imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports 
into the Community of polyester staple fibre (hereinafter "PSF" or "product 
concerned") originating in Belarus, falling within CN code 5503 20 00. 
(2) By Regulation (EC) N° 1050/965 of 10 June 1996, the Council extended the 
validity of this duty for a period of two months. 
B. SUBSEQUENT PROCEDURE 
(3) The provisional duty Regulation set up a time limit, within which the parties 
concerned could make known their views in writing and apply to be heard orally by 
the Commission. 
(4) Only the sole Belarussian exporter concerned requested, within that time limit, and 
was granted a hearing. 
(5) "EurofibrefiH", an association formed by a group of users of PSF, made known its 
views in writing nearly three months following the entry into force of the 
provisional duty Regulation, and hence after the above mentioned time limit. In any 
event, no arguments different from those previously made by Eurofibrefill in the 
course of the investigation, and covered by the provisional duty Regulation, were 
contained in the new submission. 
4OJN°L54, 05.03.1996, p.10. 
5 OJ N°L 139, 12.06.1996, pl6. 
C. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION AND LIKE PRODUCT, DUMPING, 
COMMUNITY INDUSTRY, INJURY, CAUSATION OF INJURY AND 
COMMUNITY INTEREST 
(6) No further substantiated arguments have been made by any of the parties concerned 
regarding the Commission's provisional findings on the product under 
consideration, on the like product, on dumping, Community industry, injury, 
causation of injury and Community interest. Consequently, these findings, as set 
out in recitals (10) to (78) of the provisional duty Regulation, are confirmed by the 
Council. 
D. FORM OF A DEFINITIVE MEASURE TO BE IMPOSED 
(7) During the hearing granted to the Belarussian exporter (see recital 4), the latter 
enquired about the possibility to offer a price-undertaking, so that the investigation 
could be terminated without the imposition of definitive duties. However, no such 
offer was subsequently been made. 
(8) For the following reasons, a price-undertaking does not appear to be an appropriate 
solution in the present case: 
a) Minimum prices of PSF would have to be linked to the considerable price 
fluctuations of its main raw materials on the international markets, which would 
make an undertaking unworkable. 
5 
b) The product concerned is extremely heterogeneous. An efficient monitoring of an 
undertaking, which should comprise all different types and combinations of PSF 
(factors like size, colour, cutlength, shading etc. are all decisive for setting a selling 
price), would be extremely difficult. The risk of circumvention would be 
considerable. 
c) The low level of cooperation found during the investigation, as demonstrated by the 
fact that the exporter concerned submitted evidence for only 2% of the total 
quantity of PSF imported into the Community from Belarus, would increase this 
risk even more. 
(9) In these circumstances it is considered that the most suitable form of any definitive 
measure to be imposed in the present proceeding would therefore be an ad-valorem 
duty. The Council confirms this approach. 
E. DEFINITIVE DUTY 
(10) In order to establish the level of the definitive duty, the Commission took account 
of the dumping margin found and of the amount of duty necessary to eliminate the 
injury sustained by the Community industry, in accordance with the methodology 
described in recitals (79) to (81) of the provisional duty Regulation. 
(11) Since the increase in export prices necessary to remove the injury suffered by the 
Community industry is greater than the dumping margin found, the definitive duty 
to be imposed should correspond to the dumping margin established, i.e. 43,5%. 
The Council confirms this level of the definitive duty. 
6 
F. COLLECTION OF THE PROVISIONAL DUTY 
(12) In view of the dumping margin established and the substantial injury caused to the 
Community industry, it is considered that the amounts secured by way of the 
provisional anti-dumping duty should be definitively collected. 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
1. A definitive anti-dumping duty is hereby imposed on imports of synthetic staple 
fibre of polyester, falling within CN code 5503 20 00, and originating in Belarus. 
2. The rate of the definitive anti-dumping duty applicable shall be 43,5 % of the net, 
free-at-Community frontier price, before duty. 
3. Unless otherwise specified, the provisions in force concerning customs duties shall 
apply. 
Article 2 
1. The amounts secured by way of the provisional anti-dumping duty on imports into 
the Community of polyester staple fibre originating in Belarus pursuant to 
Regulation (EC) N° 394/96 shall be definitively collected. 
2. The provisions of Article 1 (3) shall also apply to the definitive collection of the 
amounts secured by way of the provisional anti-dumping duty. 
V 
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official 
Journal of the European Communities. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member 
States. 
Done at Brussels, 
The Council 
8 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(96) 348 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 02. 11 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-347-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-06654-0 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg 
<$>