Proposal for a Council Regulation Terminating the 'new exporter' review of Regulation (EC) No 1174/2005 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of hand pallet trucks and their essential parts originating in the People's Republic of China, re-imposing the duty with regard to imports from one exporter in this country and terminating the registration of these imports
Date: 2009-08-31
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: China, anti-dumping legislation, anti-dumping measure, countervailing charge, dumping, export refund, hoisting equipment, import, originating product

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 31.8.2009 
COM(2009) 437 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

Terminating the 'new exporter' review of Regulation (EC) No 1174/2005 imposing a 
definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on 
imports of hand pallet trucks and their essential parts originating in the People's 
Republic of China, re-imposing the duty with regard to imports from one exporter in 
this country and terminating the registration of these imports 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

•  Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

This proposal concerns the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 
December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members 
of  the  European  Community,  as  last  amended  by  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 
2117/2005  of  21  December  2005  ('the  basic  Regulation')  in  the  proceeding 
concerning  imports  of  hand  pallet  trucks  and  their  essential  parts  originating  in  the 
People's Republic of China. 

•  General context 

This proposal is made in the context of the implementation of the basic Regulation 
and is the result of an investigation which was carried out in line with the substantive 
and procedural requirements laid out in the basic Regulation. 

•  Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No.  1174/2005  imposing  a  definitive  anti-dumping  duty 
and  collecting  definitively  the  provisional  duty  imposed  on  imports  of  hand  pallet 
trucks and their essential parts originating in the People’s Republic of China. Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No.  684/2008  clarified  the  scope  of  the  anti-dumping  measures 
imposed by Council Regulation (EC) No 1174/2005. 

•  Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union 

Not applicable. 

2. 

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

•  Consultation of interested parties 

Interested  parties  concerned  by  the  proceeding  have  had  the  possibility  to  defend 
their  interests  during  the  investigation,  in  line  with  the  provisions  of  the  basic 
Regulation. 

•  Collection and use of expertise 

There was no need for external expertise. 

•  Impact assessment 

This proposal is the result of the implementation of the basic Regulation. 

The basic Regulation does not contain provisions for a general impact assessment but 
contains an exhaustive list of conditions that have to be assessed. 

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3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

•  Summary of the proposed action 

On  21  January  2009  the  Commission  initiated  a  'new  exporter'  review  of  Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1174/2005  imposing  a  definitive  anti-dumping  duty  and 
collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of hand pallet trucks 
and  their  essential  parts  originating  in  the  People's  Republic  of  China,  repealed  the 
duty with regard to imports from one exporter in this country and made these imports 
subject  to  registration.  The  company  concerned  is  Crown  Equipment  (Suzhou) 
Company Limited ('the applicant'). 

On 22 May 2009 the applicant withdrew its request for a review. Upon consideration 
of  whether  it  would  be  warranted  to  continue  the  investigation  ex  officio,  it  was 
concluded  that  the  review  should  be  terminated.  In  view  of  the  above,  the  duty 
applicable to 'all other companies' imposed by Regulation (EC) No 1174/2005 should 
be re-imposed on the applicant.  

It  is  therefore  proposed  that  the  Council  adopts  the  attached  proposal  for  a 
Regulation which should be published in the Official Journal of the European Union 
by 21 October 2009 at the latest. 

•  Legal basis 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  384/96  of  22  December  1995  on  protection  against 
dumped  imports  from  countries  not  members  of  the  European  Community,  as  last 
amended  by  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2117/2005  of  21  December  2005  and  in 
particular article 11 (4) thereof. 

•  Subsidiarity principle 

The  proposal  falls  under  the  exclusive  competence  of  the  Community.  The 
subsidiarity principle therefore does not apply. 

•  Proportionality principle 

The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons: 

The  form  of  action  is  described  in  the  basic  Regulation  and  leaves  no  scope  for 
national decision. 

Indication of how financial and administrative burden falling upon the Community, 
national governments, regional and local authorities, economic operators and citizens 
is minimized and proportionate to the objective of the proposal is not applicable. 

•  Choice of instruments 

Proposed instruments: regulation. 

Other means would not be adequate for the following reason: 

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Other means would not be adequate because the basic Regulation does not provide 
for alternative options. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The proposal has no implication for the Community budget.  

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

Terminating the 'new exporter' review of Regulation (EC) No 1174/2005 imposing a 
definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on 
imports of hand pallet trucks and their essential parts originating in the People's 
Republic of China, re-imposing the duty with regard to imports from one exporter in 
this country and terminating the registration of these imports 

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 (‘the basic 
Regulation’) and in particular Article 11(4) thereof, 

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

Whereas: 

1. 

(1) 

MEASURES IN FORCE 

By  Regulation  (EC)  No  1174/20052,  the  Council  imposed  a  definitive  anti-dumping 
duty and definitively collected the provisional duty imposed on imports of hand pallet 
trucks and their essential parts originating in the People's Republic of China. For the 
four companies with individual duties, the duties in force range from 7.6% to 39.9%. 
The  duty  applicable  to  'all  other  companies'  is  46.7%.  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No. 
684/20083  clarified  the  scope  of  the  anti-dumping  measures  imposed  by  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 1174/2005.  

2. 

CURRENT INVESTIGATION 

2.1. 

Request for review 

(2) 

The Commission received a request for a 'new exporter' review of Regulation (EC) No 
1174/2005,  pursuant  to  Article 11(4)  of  the  basic  Regulation  from  one  exporting 
producer  of  hand  pallet  trucks  and  their  essential  parts  originating  in  the  People's 
Republic of China. 

(3) 

The  request  was  lodged  by  Crown  Equipment  (Suzhou)  Company  Limited  ('Crown 
Suzhou' or 'the applicant'). 

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OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. 
OJ L 189, 21.7.2005, p. 1. 
OJ L 192, 19.7.2008, p. 1 

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(4) 

The applicant alleged that it operated under market economy conditions and that it did 
not  export  the  product  concerned  to  the  European  Community  during  the  period  of 
investigation on which the anti-dumping measures were based i.e. 1 April 2003 to 31 
March 2004 (the 'original investigation period') and that it was not related to any of the 
exporting  producers  of  the  product  concerned  which  are  subject  to  the  measures  in 
force. Furthermore, it claimed that it had started to export hand pallet trucks and their 
essential parts to the Community after the end of the original investigation period. 

2.2. 

Initiation of a 'new exporter' review 

(5) 

(6) 

Having determined, after consulting the Advisory Committee, that sufficient evidence 
existed  to  justify  the  initiation  of  a  new  exporter  review  in  accordance  with  Article 
11(4)  of  the basic Regulation and after  the Community industry  concerned had been 
given the opportunity to comment, the Commission initiated, by Regulation (EC) No 
52/20094 a review of Regulation (EC) No 1174/2005 with regard to the applicant ('the 
review').  

Pursuant to Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 52/2009, the anti-dumping 
duty of 46.7% imposed by Regulation (EC) No 1174/2005 on imports of hand pallet 
the  applicant  was  repealed. 
trucks  and 
Simultaneously, pursuant to Article 14(5) of the basic Regulation, customs authorities 
were directed to take appropriate steps to register such imports. 

their  essential  parts  produced  by 

2.3. 

Product concerned 

(7) 

The  'product  concerned'  is  the  same  as  that  set  out  in  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1174/2005 as amended by Regulation (EC) No 684/2008, being hand pallet trucks and 
their essential parts, i.e. chassis and hydraulics, originating in the People’s Republic of 
China,  currently  falling  within  CN  codes  ex  8427  90  00  and  ex  8431  20  00.  Hand 
pallet  trucks  are  defined  as  trucks  with  wheels  supporting  lifting  fork  arms  for 
handling  pallets,  designed  to  be  manually  pushed,  pulled  and  steered,  on  smooth, 
level, hard surfaces, by a pedestrian operator using an articulated tiller. The hand pallet 
trucks are only designed to raise a load, by pumping the tiller, to a height sufficient for 
transporting  and  do  not  have  any  other  additional  functions  or  uses  such  as  for 
example  (i)  to  move  and  to  lift  the  loads  in  order  to  place  them  higher  or  assist  in 
storage of loads (highlifters); (ii) to stack one pallet above the other (stackers); (iii) to 
lift  the  load  to  a  working  level  (scissor  lifts);  or  (iv)  to  lift  and  to  weigh  the  loads 
(weighing trucks). 

2.4. 

Parties concerned 

(8) 

(9) 

The  Commission  officially  advised  the  applicant,  representatives  of  the  Community 
industry and the representatives of the exporting country of the initiation of the review. 
Interested parties were given the opportunity to make their views know in writing and 
to request a hearing within the time limit set in Regulation (EC) No 52/2009.  

The Commission services also sent a market economy treatment (‘MET’) claim form 
and a questionnaire to the applicant and received the replies within the deadlines set 
for that purpose. 

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OJ L 17, 22.1.2009, p. 19. 

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2.5. 

Review investigation period 

(10)  The investigation of dumping covered the period from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 

2008. 

3. 

WITHDRAWAL OF THE REQUEST FOR A NEW EXPORTER REVIEW 

(11)  By letter to the Commission dated 22 May 2009, Crown Suzhou formally withdrew its 
request for a 'new exporter' review under Article 11(4) of the basic Regulation. 

(12) 

(13) 

(14) 

It  was  considered  whether  it  would  be  warranted  to  continue  the  investigation  ex 
officio. The Commission considered that the termination of the investigation would not 
affect  the  anti-dumping  measure  in  force,  that  the  duty  rate  applicable  to  'all  other 
companies'  would  be  re-imposed  retroactively  on  Crown  Suzhou  and  that  such 
termination  would  not  be  against  the  Community  interest.  On  this  basis,  the 
investigation should be terminated.  

Interested parties were informed of the intention to terminate the investigation and re-
impose a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of the product concerned produced 
and  sold  for  export  to  the  Community  by  Crown  Suzhou  and  were  given  the 
opportunity to comment. However, no comments which could alter this decision were 
received.  

It was therefore concluded that imports into the Community of hand pallet trucks and 
their essential parts, i.e. chassis and hydraulics, originating in the People’s Republic of 
China,  currently  falling  within  CN  codes  ex  8427  90  00  and  ex  8431  20  00  and 
produced and sold for export to the Community by Crown Suzhou should be subject to 
the country-wide duty applicable to 'all other companies' (46.7%) imposed by Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1174/2005  and  that  that  rate  of  duty  should  therefore  be  re-
imposed. 

4. 

RETROACTIVE LEVYING OF THE ANTI-DUMPING DUTY 

(15) 

In the light of the above findings, the anti-dumping duty applicable to Crown Suzhou 
shall  be  levied  retroactively,  from  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  Commission 
Regulation  (EC)  No  52/2009,  on  imports  of  the  product  concerned  which  have  been 
made subject to registration pursuant to Article 3 of that Regulation. 

5. 

DURATION OF THE MEASURES 

(16)  This  review  does  not  affect  the  date  on  which  the  measures  imposed  by  Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1174/2005  will  expire  pursuant  to  Article  11(2)  of  the  basic 
Regulation. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

1. 

The  new  exporter  review  initiated  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  52/2009  is  hereby 
terminated and the anti-dumping duty applicable according to Article 1 of Regulation 
(EC)  No  1174/2005  to  'all  other  companies'  (TARIC  additional  code  A999)  in  the 

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People's  Republic  of  China  is  hereby  imposed  on  imports  identified  in  Article  1  of 
Regulation (EC) No 52/2009.  

2. 

3. 

4. 

The anti-dumping duty applicable according to Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) 
No  1174/2005  to  'all  other  companies'  in  the  People’s  Republic  of  China  is  hereby 
levied  with  effect  from  23  January  2009  on  imports  of  hand  pallet  trucks  and  their 
essential  parts  which  have  been  registered  pursuant  to  Article  3  of  Commission 
Regulation (EC) No 52/2009. 

The  customs  authorities  are  hereby  directed  to  cease  the  registration  of  imports 
carried out pursuant to Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 52/2009. 

Unless  otherwise  specified,  the  provisions  in  force  concerning  customs  duties  shall 
apply. 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  following  that  of  its  publication  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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