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
Date: 1996-07-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belarus, anti-dumping duty, import, man-made fibre, textile fibre

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. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

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. 

By Regulation (EC) N° 1050/96, the Council extended the validity of this duty for 
a period of two months until 7 September  1996. 

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. 

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. 

4O J N ° L 5 4,  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 

the  Commission's  provisional 

(6)  No further  substantiated arguments have been made by any of the parties concerned 
the  product  under 
regarding 
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. 

findings  on 

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) 

c) 

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. 

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 

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