Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2402/98 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of unwrought unalloyed magnesium originating in the People's Republic of China
Date: 2000-12-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: China, anti-dumping duty, import, magnesium, originating product

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 13.12.2000
COM(2000) 818 final

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

amending Regulation (EC) No 2402/98 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on
imports of unwrought unalloyed magnesium originating in the People's Republic of
China

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

The Council imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of unwrought unalloyed
magnesium originating in the People's Republic of China by Regulation (EC) No 2402/98.
Certain alloys of the product concerned which conformed to known industrial standards were
specifically excluded from the measures. These alloys were listed in an Annex to the
Regulation.

Following a request from two Italian importers of the product concerned, the Commission
initiated an interim review on 8 February 2000 pursuant
to Article 11(3) of Council
Regulation (EC) No 384/96.

This interim review was limited in scope to the clarification of the product coverage of the
anti-dumping measures and especially the exclusion of an additional list of alloys.

The attached proposal for a Council Regulation replaces the existing Annex with a new
version which includes the further magnesium alloys identified during the review.

2

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

amending Regulation (EC) No 2402/98 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on
imports of unwrought unalloyed magnesium originating in the People's Republic of
China

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection
against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community1, and in
particular Article 11(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the Advisory
Committee,

Whereas:

1.

(1)

2.

(2)

1

2

3

A. PREVIOUS PROCEDURES

Measures in force

By Regulation (EC) No 2402/982 (“the Regulation”), the Council imposed a definitive
anti-dumping duty on imports of unwrought unalloyed magnesium originating in the
People's Republic of China.

According to the Regulation, unwrought unalloyed magnesium comprises inter alia:

–

–

unwrought magnesium unintentionally containing small amounts of other
elements as impurities and,

intentionally containing added elements such as
unwrought magnesium,
aluminium and zinc, which does not correspond to one of the alloys described
in the Annex to the Regulation.

Anti-absorption investigation

Following a request lodged by the Community industry, the Commission initiated on
4 September 19993 an anti-absorption investigation. The findings of this investigation
were published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.4

OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2238/2000 (OJ L 257,
11.10.2000, p. 2).
OJ L 298, 7.11.1998, p. 1.
OJ C 253, 4.9.1999, p. 15.

3

1.

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

2.

(7)

(8)

(9)

B. INVESTIGATION CONCERNING THE PRODUCT SCOPE

Procedure

On 8 February 2000, by a notice published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities5, the Commission initiated an interim review, pursuant to Article 11(3)
of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96, (“the basic Regulation”). The interim review
was limited in scope to the clarification of the product covered by the Regulation.

This was done following a request by two Community importers: Pro.cat S.c.a.r.l,
Bolzano, Italy, and De Stefani Luigi, Trento, Italy (“the applicants”). They argued that
certain types of magnesium alloys not listed in the Annex to the Regulation,
in
particular magnesium alloy ingots for anode casting, met international standards for
being considered as “alloys” and should consequently not be covered by the anti-
dumping measures.

The evidence submitted in the request was considered sufficient for the initiation of an
interim review. The Commission officially advised the authorities of the exporting
country and parties known to be concerned of the initiation of this review.

the
The Commission sent questionnaires
Community industry, steel and magnesium associations and users who co-operated in
the investigation that led to the existing measures. Five replies were received.

to exporting producers,

importers,

Findings

It is recalled that the Regulation considered the risk of circumvention of the measures
in
by wrongly declaring imports of unwrought unalloyed magnesium as alloys,
defining the product concerned as described in recital (1). The Regulation contained
an annex setting out those alloys which correspond to previously established industrial
standards.

It was found that
there are two European standards for magnesium alloys EN
12438:1998 (“Chemical composition of magnesium alloy ingots for anode castings”)
and EN 1753:1997 (“Chemical composition of magnesium alloy ingots”), defined by
the European Committee For Standardisation (CEN). These European standards
correspond to international industry standards.

The alloys defined in the standard EN 1753:1997 (“Chemical composition of
magnesium alloy ingots”), which coincide with the Annex to the Regulation, were
excluded from the scope of the product concerned in the Regulation. The standard EN
12438:1998 (“Chemical composition of magnesium alloys ingots for anode castings”)
was finalised in April 1998 and not brought to the attention of the Commission during
the investigation that led to the existing measures. It could thus not be taken into
account.

(10)

investigation established that alloys covered by the standard EN
The present
12438:1998 (“Chemical composition of magnesium alloys ingots for anode castings”)
should also be excluded from the measures as they correspond to the definition of

4

5

OJ L 267, 20.10.2000, p.. 17.
OJ C 35, 8.2.2000, p. 12.

4

alloys which were originally excluded.
these alloys are designed for
applications for which alloyed magnesium is typically required and were used by
downstream industries prior to the imposition of provisional measures in May 1998.
No party questioned these facts.

Indeed,

(11)

In addition it was found that in the publication of the Annex of the Regulation there
were some incorrect transcriptions of European standard EN 1753:1997 (“Chemical
composition of magnesium alloy ingots”). The latter should be rectified.

(12) One user of magnesium, producing alloys, opposed the exclusion of the above-
mentioned alloys from the anti-dumping measures. This co-operating user argued that
imports of these alloys would injure its business. This argument is entirely irrelevant.
the Regulation imposed anti-dumping measures on unwrought unalloyed
Indeed,
magnesium, and alloys should not, therefore, have been subject
to anti-dumping
measures. One importer of magnesium argued that alloys covered by standard EN
12438:1998 (“Chemical composition of magnesium alloys ingots for anode castings”)
should not be excluded from the measures without substantiating its position.

(13) During the investigation, the question was raised whether not only ingots, but also
certain elementary castings made of the magnesium alloys defined in the CEN
standards are excluded from the measures in place. In this respect it is considered that,
like any metals, magnesium is in a liquid form when it emerges from furnaces and
takes a given shape when becoming solid. When processed, magnesium comes out of
furnaces as a continuous bar that is cut into parts (generally called ingots) so that it can
be transported and further processed. It could however be the case that the given form
is not that of an ingot but of a "notch bar", a "slab", a "stick", a "cake", a "cube", etc...
Therefore, it was concluded that all the possible forms for unwrought magnesium
should be considered as equivalent to the form "ingot". More processed articles of
magnesium and magnesium alloys are not falling under the category "unwrought" and
therefore are not concerned by the measures.

(14) Given the fact that the present review investigation is limited to the clarification of the
product that was intended to be covered by the original measures and to prevent any
subsequent prejudice to importers of the product, it is appropriate that the findings be
applied from the date of the entry into force of the Regulation.

(15) Given the above, it is considered appropriate to amend the Regulation to clarify the
product definition and to exclude not only alloys conforming to the European standard
EN 1753:1997 (“Chemical composition of magnesium alloy ingots”) but also those
conforming to the European standard EN 12438:1998 (“Chemical composition of
magnesium alloys ingots for anode castings”) from the measures by amending the
Annex to the Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 2402/98 is hereby amended as follows:

The ANNEX is replaced by the attached annex.

Article 2

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This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities and shall apply to all imports of unwrought
unalloyed magnesium originating in the People's Republic of China which entered into free
circulation in the Community as from 8 November 1998.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the Council
The President

6

ANNEX

Unwrought magnesium:

- Material designation in accordance with CEN standard EN 1753:1997:

Material designation

Composition % (mass fraction)

Alloy Group

Symbol

Number

Element

Mg

Al

Zn Mn RE (1) Zr

Ag

Y

Li

Si

Fe

Cu

Ni Others

EN-MBMgAl8Zn1

EN-MB21110

min.

Remainder

7,2

0,45 0,17

max.

-

8,5

0,9

-

MgAlZn

EN-MBMgAl9Zn1(A)

EN-MB21120

min.

Remainder

8,5

0,45 0,17

max.

-

9,5

0,9

EN-MBMgAl9Zn1(B)

EN-MB21121

min.

Remainder

8,0

0,3

max.

-

10,0

1,0

-

-

-

EN-MBMgAl2Mn

EN-MB21210

min.

Remainder

1,7

-

0,35

max.

-

2,5

0,20

-

MgAlMn

EN-MBMgAl5Mn

EN-MB21220

min.

Remainder

4,5

-

0,27

EN-MBMgAl6Mn

EN-MB21230

min.

Remainder

5,6

-

0,23

max.

-

5,3

0,20

-

max.

-

6,4

0,20

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

0,05

0,004

0,025 0,001

0,01

-

-

-

-

-

0,05

0,004

0,025 0,001

0,01

-

-

-

-

-

0,3

0,03

0,20

0,01

0,05

-

-

-

-

-

0,05

0,004

0,008 0,001

0,01

-

-

-

-

-

0,05

0,004

0,008 0,001

0,01

-

-

-

-

-

0,05

0,004

0,008 0,001

0,01

7

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

5,5

0,25

6,5

0,75

3,5

-

1,0

0,1

5,0

0,15

1,75

1,0

2,0

-

2,4

0,1

3,0

0,15

4,0

1,0

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2,0

0,1

2,0

0,2

0,15

3,0

1,0

3,0

-

-

1,5

0,1

1,3

0,2

0,15

3,0

1,0

1,7

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

0,7

-

-

-

-

1,2

0,004

0,008 0,001

0,01

0,7

-

-

-

-

1,2

0,004

0,008 0,001

0,01

-

-

0,20

0,05

-

-

2,4

3,0

-

-

-

0,01

0,01

-

-

0,01

0,01

0,03

0,005

0,01

-

-

-

-

-

0,01

0,01

0,03

0,005

0,01

-

-

-

-

-

0,01

0,01

0,03

0,005

0,01

-

-

0,05

-

-

0,01

0,01

0,1

0,005

0,01

EN-MBMgAl2Si

EN-MB21310

min.

Remainder

1,9

-

0,20

MgAlSi

max.

-

2,5

0,20

-

EN-MBMgAl4Si

EN-MB21320

min.

Remainder

3,7

-

0,20

max.

-

4,8

0,20

-

MgZnCu

EN-MBMgZn6Cu3Mn

EN-MB32110

min.

Remainder

max.

-

EN-MBMgZn4RE1Zr

EN-MB35110

min.

Remainder

MgZnREZr
(2)

max.

-

EN-MBMgRE3Zn2Zr

EN-MB65120

min.

Remainder

max.

-

EN-MBMgRE2Ag2Zr

EN-MB65210

min.

Remainder

MgREAgZr
(3)

max.

-

EN-MBMgRE2Ag1Zr

EN-MB65220

min.

Remainder

max.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

8

EN-MBMgY5RE4Zr

EN-MB95310

min.

Remainder

MgYREZr (4)

max.

-

EN-MBMgY4RE3Zr

EN-MB95320

min.

Remainder

max.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,5

0,1

0,20 0,15

4,0

1,0

-

-

2,4

0,1

0,20 0,15

4,4

1,0

-

-

-

-

4,75

-

-

-

-

-

-

5,5

3,7

4,3

0,20

0,01

0,01

0,03

0,005

0,01

-

-

-

-

-

-

0,20

0,01

0,01

0,03

0,005

0,01

(1) RE = Rare earth metals

(2) Cerium rich

(3) Neodymium rich

(4) Neodymium and heavy RE rich

- Material designation in accordance with CEN standard EN 12438:1998:

Material designation

Composition % (mass fraction)

Alloy Group

Symbol

Number

Element

Mg

Al

Zn Mn

Si

Fe

Cu

Ni Others

MgAlZn

EN-MBMgAl3Zn1

EN-MB21130

min.

Remainder

2,6

0,7

0,20

-

-

-

-

-

max.

-

3,5

1,4

1,0

0,30

0,01

0,05

0,001

0,05

EN-MBMgAl6Zn1

EN-MB21140

min.

Remainder

5,6

0,7

0,20

-

-

-

-

-

max.

-

6,5

1,4

1,0

0,30

0,01

0,05

0,001

0,05

EN-MBMgAl6Zn3

EN-MB21150

min.

Remainder

5,1

2,1

0,20

-

-

-

-

-

max.

-

7,0

4,0

1,0

0,30

0,01

0,05

0,001

0,05

9

MgMn

EN-MBMgMn1

EN-MB40010

min.

Remainder

-

-

0,50

-

-

-

-

-

EN-MBMgMn2

EN-MB40020

min.

Remainder

-

-

1,20

-

-

-

-

-

max.

-

0,01

0,05

1,3

0,05

0,02

0,02

0,001

0,05

max.

-

0,01

0,05

2,5

0,05

0,02

0,02

0,001

0,05

NOTE: The material designation is in accordance with EN 1754.

10