Notice of extension of the time limit of safeguard investigations concerning imports of certain steel products
Date: 2002-12-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: exchange of information, import, iron and steel product, originating product, protective clause

11.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 308/37

investigation leading to the anti-dumping and countervailing
duty measures above mentioned, and the relevant authorities
of the countries concerned.

4. Written submissions and correspondence

relevant

information is

All
to be communicated to the
Commission. All submissions and requests made by interested
parties must be made in writing (not in electronic format
indicate the name,
unless otherwise specified) and must
address, e-mail address,
telex
numbers of the interested party.

telephone and fax, and/or

All interested parties are hereby invited to make their views
known, submit information and provide supporting evidence
within 40 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.

The Commission address for correspondence is:

Views, information and evidence already submitted by parties
in response to the notice published on 30 August 2002 will
also be taken into account by the Commission.

European Commission
Directorate-General for Trade
Directorate B
J-79 5/16
B-1049 Brussels
Fax (32-2) 295 65 05
Telex COMEU B 21877.

Notice of extension of the time limit of safeguard investigations concerning imports of certain
steel products

(2002/C 308/08)

1. Background

On 28 March 2002, the Commission initiated an investigation
relating to serious injury or threat thereof to the Community
producers of products like or directly competing with certain
imported steel products. The 21 steel products covered by the
investigation were (1) non-alloy hot-rolled coils, (2) non-alloy
hot-rolled sheets and plates,
(3) non-alloy hot-rolled narrow
strip, (4) alloy hot-rolled flat products, (5) cold-rolled sheets,
(7) metallic coated
(6) electrical sheets (other than GOES),
sheets,
(10)
(8) organic coated sheets,
quarto plates, (11) wide flats, (12) non alloy merchant bars
and light
(13) alloy merchant bars and light
sections, (14) rebars, (15) stainless bars and light shapes, (16)
stainless wire rod,
fittings
stainless
(< 609,6 mm), (19) flanges (other than of stainless steel), (20)
gas pipes and (21) hollow sections.

(9) tin mill products,

steel wire,

sections,

(18)

(17)

On the same day, on the basis of information gathered and
verified prior
to the initiation, provisional measures were
imposed on 15 of the steel products covered by the investi-
gation. These are the product numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 19 referred to in recital 1.

On 27 September 2002, definitive safeguard measures were
imposed on seven of the steel products covered by the inves-
tigation. These are the product numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 18 and
19. On the same day,
the Commission terminated the
safeguard investigations in relation to product numbers 6, 7,
8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21.

The safeguard investigations in relation to product numbers 9,
10 and 14 have not yet been concluded. In the context of
consultations with the Member States pursuant to Article 4
of Regulation (EC) No 3285/94 (1) and Regulation (EC) No
519/94 (2), the Member States have informed the Commission
of the new evolution of imports of product numbers 9, 10 and
14 (the products concerned) and of
impact on the
situation of the Community producers concerned.

their

2. Exceptional circumstances

Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 3285/94 and Article 6 of
Regulation (EC) No 519/94 provide that if the Commission
considers that surveillance or safeguard measures are necessary,
it shall take the necessary decisions no later than nine months
from the initiation of the investigation, but that, in exceptional
circumstances, that time limit may be extended by a further
maximum period of two months.

The Commission has already determined that, in relation to,
inter alia, the products concerned, it is in the interests of the
Community to establish a system of retrospective surveillance,
and in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No
3285/94 and Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 519/94, such a
system has
by Regulation (EC) No
1695/2002 (3).

established

been

(1) OJ L 349, 31.12.1994, p. 53, last amended by Council Regulation

(EC) No 2474/2000 (OJ L 286, 11.11.2000, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 67, 10.3.1994, p. 89, last amended by Regulation (EC) No

1138/98 (OJ L 159, 3.6.1998, p. 1).

(3) OJ L 261, 28.9.2002, p. 124.

C 308/38

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

11.12.2002

the Commission considers that
For the following reasons,
exceptional circumstances exist justifying the extension of the
time limit
in
relation to the products concerned by a further period of
two months.

for completing the safeguard investigations

The Commission has only recently received new information
relating to the evolution of imports of the products concerned
and their impact on the Community producers during the first
nine months of 2002. This information, which indicates a
to the Community and the
further
worsening of
the Community
situation of
the products concerned, was not
producers of each of
previously available to the Commission, and in consequence
has not been investigated by the Commission.

increase in imports
financial

the

and appropriate by

Given the nature of the information received, a further inves-
tigation is deemed necessary
the
Commission. In order to ensure the proper conduct of this
investigation, the following needs to be considered. A large
number of interested parties have cooperated in the investi-
gations undertaken to date in relation to the products
concerned, and wish to continue to cooperate in any further
enquiries undertaken by the Commission. In order to verify the
further information received,
the Commission had to send
to both Community producers and
further questionnaires
to ascertain their
exporters

to the Community in order

specific situation. In order to allow the economic operators
concerned the opportunity to exercise their
rights under
Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 3285/94 and Article 5 of
Regulation (EC) No 519/94, they should be given a reasonable
period within which to reply to the questionnaires. Moreover
the Commission's services will thereafter require to verify the
information provided in reply to the quetionnaires through
on-the-spot
the parties
the premises of
concerned before proceeding to any conclusions.

investigations at

Following the completion of the Commission's further investi-
gation, and prior
to the adoption of definitive safeguard
if any, the
measures in relation to the products concerned,
European Community would in addition be obliged to notify
certain trade partners with which it has bilteral agreements and
also to notify WTO trade partners of any proposed measures in
a timely manner.

3. Extension of time limit

The Commission considers that, in the circumstances outlined
above, exceptional circumstances exist and hereby gives notice
that the time limit for completion of the safeguard investi-
gations in relation to the products concerned is extended by
two months from 27 December 2002 to 27 February 2003.