Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Interpretation of the basic anti-dumping regulation in the light of the GATT Anti-dumping Code - Consumer organisations - Person regarded as an interested party solely in proceedings concerning products commonly sold at the retail level - An interpretation not implied by the Anti-dumping Code

(Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, 1994 Anti-dumping Code, Arts 6.11 and 6.12; Council Regulation No 384/96)

2. Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Consumer organisations - Whether a person is to be regarded as an interested party - Criteria

(Council Regulation No 384/96, Arts 5(10), 6(7) and 21(2))

Summary

1. It does not follow from the provisions of the GATT Anti-dumping Code 1994, in the light of which the Commission, rightly, interprets the basic anti-dumping Regulation (No 384/96), that it may interpret that Regulation in such a manner as to confine the right of a consumer organisation to be regarded as an interested party solely to anti-dumping proceedings concerning products commonly sold at the retail level.

Although it is true that Article 6.11 of the Anti-dumping Code does not include organisations representing consumers among interested parties, nevertheless that provision states that Members of the World Trade Organisation may also allow domestic or foreign parties other than those expressly mentioned to be included as interested parties. That option is not subject to any restriction.

Secondly, the fact that under Article 6.12 of the Anti-dumping Code it is not compulsory to give consumer organisations an opportunity to provide information relevant to the investigation, except where the product is commonly sold at retail level, in no way requires the Community legislature to impose that condition if it decides to extend the circle of interested parties to persons other than those expressly mentioned in Article 6.11 of the Anti-dumping Code, in particular to representative consumer organisations.

( see paras 67, 69-73 )

2. The Commission does not have grounds for automatically excluding consumer organisations from the circle of interested parties for the purposes of Articles 5(10), 6(7) and 21 of the basic anti-dumping Regulation (No 384/96) by applying a general criterion such as the distinction between products sold at the retail level and other products, without giving them an opportunity to show their interest in the product in question. The Commission must decide on a case-by-case basis whether a party should be considered an interested party in the light of the particular circumstances of each case.

The sole fact that those products are processed before being offered for sale to the public cannot, in itself, warrant the Commission's concluding that associations representing consumers who purchase processed products cannot have an interest in the results of the proceeding. Furthermore, if the adoption of anti-dumping measures were to have an impact on the price of those processed products or on the range of products available, the observations of consumer associations in that respect could well be useful to the authorities.

( see paras 76-77, 80 )