Commission Decision No 3692/91/ECSC of 12 December 1991 repealing Decision No 2132/88/ECSC imposing definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of certain iron or steel coils, originating in Algeria, Mexico and Yugoslavia
Date: 1991-12-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Algeria, Mexico, Yugoslavia, anti-dumping duty, metal product, sheet













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31991S3692

Commission Decision No 3692/91/ECSC of 12 December 1991 repealing Decision No 2132/88/ECSC imposing definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of certain iron or steel coils, originating in Algeria, Mexico and Yugoslavia  


Official Journal L 350 , 19/12/1991 P. 0011 - 0014 





COMMISSION DECISION No 3692/91/ECSC  of 12  December 1991  repealing Decision No 2132/88/ECSC imposing definitive anti-dumping duties on  imports of certain iron or steel coils, originating in Algeria, Mexico and Yugoslavia THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, Having regard to Commission Decision No 2424/88/ECSC of 29 July 1988 on protection against dumped  or subsidized imports from countries not members of the European Coal and Steel Community  (1), as  corrected  (2), and in particular Articles 9 and 14 thereof, After consultation within the Advisory Committee as provided for by the above Decision, Whereas: A.  PREVIOUS PROCEDURE  (1)  In May 1987, the Commission initiated an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of  certain iron or steel coils, originating in Algeria, Mexico and Yugoslavia  (3). (2)  By Commission Decision No 163/88/ECSC  (4), as amended by Decision No 979/88/ECSC  (5),  provisional anti-dumping duties were imposed on the products subject to the proceeding, originating  in Algeria, Mexico and Yugoslavia. The validity of the provisional duties were extended for a  period of two months by Commission Decision No 1322/88/ECSC  (6). (3)  The Commission subsequently imposed definitive anti-dumping duties by Decision No  2132/88/ECSC  (7). B.  REVIEW  (4)  In January 1990 the Commission received a request for review with regard to the anti-dumping  measures applicable to imports of the products in question originating in Mexico, lodged by  Sidermex SA de CV, a Mexican exporter involved in the proceeding, pursuant to Article 14 of  Decision No 2424/88/ECSC. (5)  The request alleged that following the imposition of the definitive anti-dumping duties the  circumstances with regard to the situation of the exports to the Community market of hot-rolled  iron or steel coils have changed to the extent that warrants a review of the anti-dumping measures  in force. (6)  The Commission considered that the evidence submitted concerning the changed circumstances  was sufficient to justify the need for a review and as these circumstances applied equally for  imports of the products in question from Algeria and Yugoslavia for which definitive anti-dumping  duties have also been imposed, it was considered appropriate to extend the review to these  countries. The Commission accordingly announced, by a notice published in the Official Journal of the  European Communities (8), the reopening of the investigation concerning imports of certain iron or  steel coils originating in Algeria, Mexico and Yugoslavia. (7)  The Commission officially so advised the producers/exporters and importers known to the  Commission to be concerned, the representatives of the exporting countries and the complainants and  gave the parties concerned the opportunity to make known their views in writing and to request a  hearing. (8)  During the investigation period, most of the exporters concerned by the proceeding and some  Community producers asked for an extension for replying to the Commission's questionnaires. Where  the requests were considered justified, the Commission extended the set time limits. (9)  Most of the Community producers, all exporters concerned and one importer made known their  views in writing. Some of them requested and were granted hearings. (10)  No submissions were made by or on behalf of Community purchasers or processors of the  hot-rolled iron or steel coils in question. (11)  The Commission sought and verified all the information it deemed necessary for the purpose  of its determination and carried out investigations at the premises of the following companies: Community producers: -  Thyssen Stahl AG, Duisburg, Germany, -  Stahlwerke Peine-Salzgitter AG, Salzgitter, Germany, -  ILVA SpA, Genoa, Italy, -  Cockerill Sambre SA, Seraing, Belgium, -  Sidmar NV, Gent, Belgium, -  British Steel plc, London, United Kingdom. Non-Community producers/exporters: -  Sidermex SA de CV, Mexico DF, Mexico  (holding company), -  Altos Hornos de Mexico SA, Monclova, Mexico  (producer/exporter), -  Sidermex International Inc., San Antonio, Texas, USA (exporter), -  Hylsa SA de CV, Monterrey, Mexico. (12)  The investigation of dumping covered the period 1 January to 31 December 1989. (13)  Due to the complexity of the proceeding, in particular the difficulties met by the  Commission in obtaining from some of the interested parties the relevant data, the investigation  exceeded the normal period of one year laid down in Article 7 (9) of Decision No 2424/88/ECSC. C.  PRODUCT  (14)  The products concerned are certain flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a  width exceeding 500 mm, of a thickness of 1,5 mm or more, in coils, not further worked than  hot-rolled, containing by weight less than 0,6  % of carbon, falling within CN codes: ex  7208  11  00, ex  7208  12  91, ex  7208  12  99, ex  7208  13  91, ex  7208  13  99, ex  7208   14  90, ex  7208  21  10, ex  7208  21  90, ex  7208  22  91, ex  7208  22  99, ex  7208  23  91,  ex  7208  23  99, ex  7208  24  90, ex  7211  12  10, ex  7211  19  10, ex  7211  22  10 and ex   7211  29  10. D.  RESULTS OF THE REOPENED INVESTIGATION  (a)  Algeria  (15)  The Commission, given the relationship between the Algerian producer and its customers,  established that the domestic sales, during the reference period, had not been effected in the  normal course of trade. The Commission further examined whether it was possible to construct normal  value for the Algerian producer. As no sufficient evidence on its inputs and their prices was  provided by the sole Algerian producer, the Commission was not in a position to establish  production costs for the products concerned. In the absence of a reliable basis for price  comparison, the Commission could also not assess whether exports to other third countries had been  dumped. As apparently no other method to determine normal value could produce a different result,  the Commission decided to determine normal value in accordance with Article 2 (6) (b) of Decision  No 2424/88/ECSC on the import basic price published by the Commission for the product in question   (1). The producer concerned did not object to this determination. (16)  Export prices were determined on the basis of the prices actually paid or payable for  hot-rolled coils sold for export to the Community. Export prices have been adjusted, where  appropriate and to the extent of the evidence available, for transport, insurance, handling and  ancillary costs. (17)  The comparison of normal value with the export prices made at the level of cif Community  frontier, duty unpaid, revealed a dumping margin of 0,67  % which is considered de minimis. (b)  Yugoslavia  (18)  Since the information submitted by the Yugoslav producers/exporters with regard to domestic  sales of the products in question was incomplete and not sufficiently documented, the Commission  established normal value, as for Algeria, on the basis of the published basic prices as they  applied during the investigation period and referred to in the exchange of letters which appears in  the final act of the Agreement between the Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community  and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Decision 83/42/ECSC  (2). (19)  Export prices were determined on the basis of prices actually paid or payable for prime  hot-rolled coils sold for export to the Community for which evidence concerning relevant invoices  was supplied. Export prices have been adjusted, where appropriate evidence was available, for  transport, insurance, handling and ancillary cost. (20)  The comparison of normal value with the export prices made at the level of cif Community  frontier, duty unpaid, showed a dumping margin of 0,13  % which is considered de minimis. (c)  Mexico  (21)  Normal value was based on domestic prices actually paid or payable in the ordinary course of  trade for the products in question on the Mexican market. (22)  Since the imposition of the definitive anti-dumping duties in July 1988, export to the  Community of the products in question originating in Mexico had completely ceased. Consequently,  export prices could not be established and compared with normal value. (d)  Conclusion on dumping  (23)  In view of the fact that dumping with regard to Algeria and Yugoslavia had decreased to a de  minimis level, the Commission is of the opinion that the anti-dumping measures currently imposed on  imports originating in these countries should be repealed. (24)  In these circumstances, the Commission considers that the proceeding concerning imports of  the products in question originating in Algeria and Yugoslavia should be terminated. (25)  As regards Mexico, the suspension of Mexican exports to the Community did not permit an  investigation into the existence of dumping during the investigation period. In this regard, the  Commission is of the opinion that the absence of exports as such is not sufficient to determine  whether the anti-dumping duties imposed may be lifted. Account was therefore taken of other  considerations, in particular of the development of the Mexican steel market, in determining  whether repealing the measures in force would lead to a situation causing or threatening to cause  material injury to the Community industry. E.  DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEXICAN STEEL MARKET  (26)  The total annual capacity of hot-rolled coils of the two Mexican producers/exporters in  question amounts currently to 2,5 million tonnes. Apart from slight capacity increases to be  realized only by certain technical improvements, no major extension plans exist for the near  future. The output had reached capacity limits since 1988 following a strong recovery of domestic  demand. (27)  Since more than 75  % of the production of the hot-rolled coils produced are used internally  for further processing into higher value products, the Mexican production is presently not  sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the domestic market for the direct use of the products  concerned. As a result, a certain part of the demand not covered by domestic production must be  imported and there are no appreciable quantities available for exports which fell sharply in the  last few years. (28)  The outlook for the current year and beyond is for a further strengthening of domestic  demand for hot-rolled coils in Mexico. Following the lifting of price controls by the Mexican  Government in 1990, price increases on the domestic market are expected to bring better in line  cost of production and return which probably will result in higher domestic sales and reduced  export possibilities. (29)  The expected conclusion of a free-trade agreement between Mexico and the USA is supposed to  facilitate further the access of Mexican steel products to the US market which traditionally is of  primary importance for Mexican exporters due to the geographical proximity and the resulting lower  transport cost. (30)  In conclusion, the strong and increasing demand for hot-rolled coils on the Mexican market,  the limited production capacities and the expected flow of exports to non-Community markets, lead  the Commission to the conclusion that there is no clearly foreseeable threat that imports of the  products concerned from Mexico into the Community would resume to a sizeable market share after the  repeal of the measures in force and that under these circumstances the recurrence of injurious  dumping is not imminent. F.  TERMINATION AND REPEAL OF DUTIES  (31)  In the light of the above findings, taking particularly into account the determination of de  minimis dumping with regard to Algeria and Yugoslavia and the absence of imminent injurious dumping  or threat thereof with regard to Mexico, the Commission considers that the review proceeding  concerning imports of hot-rolled coils from Algeria, Mexico and Yugoslavia should be concluded by  the repeal of the anti-dumping measures in question in accordance with Article 14 (3) of Decision  No 2424/88/ECSC. (32)  The complainant was informed of the facts and principal considerations on the basis of which  the Commission intends to terminate the review proceeding, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Article 1 Decision No 2132/88/ECSC is hereby repealed.  Article 2 This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the  Official Journal of the European Communities. This Decision shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 12 December 1991. For the Commission  Karel VAN MIERT  Member of the Commission