Notice of initiation of a partial interim review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of melamine originating in the People’s Republic of China
Date: 2023-12-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, European Commission
Subjects: China, anti-dumping duty, chemical compound, import (EU), originating product








C_202301595EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/1595


20.12.2023






Notice of initiation of a partial interim review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of melamine originating in the People’s Republic of China
(C/2023/1595)

The European Commission (‘the Commission’) received a request for a partial interim review pursuant to Article 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union (1) (‘the basic Regulation’).
The partial interim review is limited to the form of the measures, in particular whether or not it is in the Union interest to maintain measures currently in force in the form of minimum import price (‘MIP’) and fixed duties.
1.   Request for review

The request was lodged on 13 November 2023 by LAT Nitrogen, OCI Nitrogen BV and Grupa Azoty Zaklady Azotowe Pulawy SA (‘the applicants’).
The applicants requested the Commission to take the necessary action to amend the form of the measures and to impose ad valorem duties instead of the minimum import price (‘MIP’) and fixed duties.
2.   Product under review

The product subject to this review is melamine (‘the product under review’), currently falling under CN code 2933 61 00. The CN code is given for information only and without prejudice to a subsequent change in the tariff classification.
3.   Existing measures

The measures currently in force are a definitive anti-dumping duty imposed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2023/1776 (2).
The duty was imposed in the form of a minimum import price (‘MIP’) for the cooperating exporting producers and a fixed duty per tonne for all other exporting producers.
4.   Grounds for the review

In the original investigation, the Commission imposed a provisional ad valorem duty on imports of melamine originating in the People’s Republic of China ranging from 44,9 % to 65,2 % (3). The definitive anti-dumping measures were imposed in the form of a minimum import price for cooperating exporting producers and a fixed duty per tonne for all others (4). This was done for reasons of Union interest, i.e. to limit any possible serious impact on the overall users’ business that a potential supply shortage and corresponding increased prices on the Union market might have.
The applicants provided evidence that the circumstances justifying the imposition of an anti-dumping duty in the form of a MIP and a fixed duty are not existing anymore, with the consequence that the current form of the measures does not protect the Union industry from the increasing Chinese imports, which are causing significant and sustained injury.
The evidence submitted by the applicants concerned their production capacity, which could cover the entire demand in the Union, as well as the existence of alternative sources of supply of melamine from other third countries.
Furthermore, the applicants provided evidence to demonstrate that the current form of the measures is no longer effective to sufficiently counteract the dumping which is causing injury. According to the evidence, despite the measures in place, the market share of the Chinese imports has significantly increased, and imports have been made at injurious price levels, thereby leading to an injurious situation for the Union industry.
Therefore, sufficient grounds exist to initiate a partial interim review limited to the amendment of the form of the measures.
5.   Procedure

Having determined, after informing the Member States, that sufficient evidence exists to justify the initiation of a partial interim review limited to the examination of the form of the measures in force, the Commission hereby initiates a review in accordance with Article 11(3) of the basic Regulation.
5.1.   
Review investigation period


The review investigation will cover the period from 1 October 2022 until 30 September 2023 (‘the review investigation period’). The period considered is from 1 January 2020 until the end of the review investigation period.
5.2.   
Procedure for the assessment of Union interest


In order to reach a decision, pursuant to Article 21 of the basic Regulation, as to whether a change in the form of the existing anti-dumping measures on melamine would not be against the Union interest, Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, and representative consumer organisations are invited to make themselves known within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. In order to participate in the investigation, the representative consumer organisations have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation.
Parties that make themselves known within the above deadline may provide the Commission with information on the Union interest within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. This information may be provided either in a free format or by completing a questionnaire prepared by the Commission.
A copy of the questionnaires, including the questionnaire for users of the product under investigation, is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website (https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/investigations/case-view?caseId=2703).
In any case, information submitted pursuant to Article 21 of the basic Regulation will only be taken into account if supported by factual evidence at the time of submission, which substantiates its validity.
5.2.1.   Investigating Union producers

In order to establish whether or not it is in the Union interest to maintain the form of the measures currently in force on imports of melamine originating in China, Union producers of the product under review are invited to participate in the investigation.
In view of the large number of Union producers involved in this review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission has decided to limit to a reasonable number the Union producers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling is carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.
The Commission has provisionally selected a sample of Union producers. Details can be found in the file for inspection by interested parties.
Interested parties are hereby invited to comment on the provisional sample. In addition, other Union producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, including Union producers who did not cooperate in the investigation(s) leading to the measures in force, that consider that there are reasons why they should be included in the sample must contact the Commission within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice. All comments regarding the provisional sample must be received within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.
The sampled Union producers will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision of their inclusion in the sample, unless otherwise specified.
A copy of the questionnaire for Union producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s Internet: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/investigations/case-view?caseId=2703
5.2.2.   Investigating unrelated importers

Unrelated importers of the product under review from the People’s Republic of China to the Union are invited to participate in this investigation.
In view of the potentially large number of unrelated importers involved in this review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit to a reasonable number the unrelated importers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.
In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all unrelated importers, or representatives acting on their behalf, including the ones who did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures, are hereby requested to make themselves known to the Commission. These parties must do so within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex to this Notice.
In order to obtain information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of unrelated importers, the Commission may also contact any known associations of importers.
If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under review in the Union which can reasonably be investigated within the time available. All known unrelated importers and associations of importers will be notified by the Commission of the companies selected to be in the sample.
The Commission will also add a note to the file for inspection by interested parties reflecting the sample selection. Any comment on the sample selection must be received within 3 days of the date of notification of the sample decision.
In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will make available questionnaires to the sampled unrelated importers. Those parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.
A copy of the questionnaire for unrelated importers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s Internet: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/investigations/case-view?caseId=2703
5.3.   
Interested parties


In order to participate in the investigation, interested parties, such as exporting producers, Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, trade unions and representative consumer organisations first have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.
Producers in the country concerned, Union producers, importers and representative associations who made information available will be considered as interested parties if there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.
Other parties will only be able to participate in the investigation as interested party from the moment they make themselves known, and provided that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review. Being considered as an interested party is without prejudice to the application of Article 18 of the basic Regulation.
Access to the file available for inspection for interested parties is made via Tron.tdi at the following address: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI. Please follow the instructions on that page to get access (5).
5.4.   
Other written submissions


Subject to the provisions of this Notice, all interested parties are hereby invited to make their views known, submit information and provide supporting evidence. Unless otherwise specified, this information and supporting evidence must reach the Commission within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice.
5.5.   
Possibility to be heard by the Commission investigation services


All interested parties may request to be heard by the Commission investigation services. Any request to be heard must be made in writing and must specify the reasons for the request as well as a summary of what the interested party wishes to discuss during the hearing. The hearing will be limited to the issues set out by the interested parties in writing beforehand.
In principle, hearings will not be used to present factual information which is not yet on file. Nevertheless, in the interest of good administration and to enable Commission services to progress with the investigation, interested parties may be directed to provide new factual information after a hearing.
5.6.   
Instructions for making written submissions and sending completed questionnaires and correspondence


Information submitted to the Commission for the purpose of trade defence investigations shall be free from copyrights. Interested parties, before submitting to the Commission information and/or data which is subject to third party copyrights, must request specific permission to the copyright holder explicitly allowing the Commission a) to use the information and data for the purpose of this trade defence proceeding and b) to provide the information and/or data to interested parties to this investigation in a form that allows them to exercise their rights of defence.
All written submissions, including the information requested in this Notice, completed questionnaires and correspondence provided by interested parties for which confidential treatment is requested shall be labelled ‘Sensitive’
                (6). Parties submitting information in the course of this investigation are invited to reason their request for confidential treatment.
Parties providing ‘Sensitive’ information are required to furnish non-confidential summaries of it pursuant to Article 19(2) of the basic Regulation, which will be labelled ‘For inspection by interested parties’. These summaries must be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence.
If a party providing confidential information fails to show good cause for a confidential treatment request or does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, the Commission may disregard such information unless it can be satisfactorily demonstrated from appropriate sources that the information is correct.
Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests via TRON.tdi (https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI) including requests to be registered as interested parties, scanned powers of attorney and certification sheets. By using TRON.tdi or email, interested parties express their agreement with the rules applicable to electronic submissions contained in the document ‘CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN TRADE DEFENCE CASES’ published on the website of the Directorate-General for Trade: https://europa.eu/!7tHpY3. The interested parties must indicate their name, address, telephone and a valid email address and they should ensure that the provided email address is a functioning official business email which is checked on a daily basis. Once contact details are provided, the Commission will communicate with interested parties by TRON.tdi or email only, unless they explicitly request to receive all documents from the Commission by another means of communication or unless the nature of the document to be sent requires the use of a registered mail. For further rules and information concerning correspondence with the Commission including principles that apply to submissions via TRON.tdi and by email, interested parties should consult the communication instructions with interested parties referred to above.
Commission address for correspondence:





European Commission




Directorate-General for Trade




Directorate G




Office: CHAR 04/039




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË




TRON.tdi: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/tdi
Email: TRADE-R808-MELAMINE@ec.europa.eu
6.   Schedule of the investigation

The investigation shall normally be concluded within 12 months and in any event no later than 15 months from the date of the publication of this Notice, pursuant to Article 11(5) of the basic Regulation.
7.   Submission of information

As a rule, interested parties may only submit information in the timeframes specified in section 5 of this Notice.
In order to complete the investigation within the mandatory deadlines, the Commission will not accept submissions from interested parties after the deadline to provide comments on the final disclosure or, if applicable, after the deadline to provide comments on the additional final disclosure.
8.   Possibility to comment on other parties’ submissions

In order to guarantee the rights of defence, interested parties should have the possibility to comment on information submitted by other interested parties. When doing so, interested parties may only address issues raised in the other interested parties’ submissions and may not raise new issues.
Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the definitive findings should be submitted within 5 days from the deadline to comment on the definitive findings, unless otherwise specified. If there is an additional final disclosure, comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to this further disclosure should be made within 1 day from the deadline to comment on this further disclosure, unless otherwise specified. The outlined timeframe is without prejudice to the Commission’s right to request additional information from interested parties in duly justified cases.
9.   Extension to time limits specified in this Notice

Any extension to the time limits provided for in this Notice should only be requested in exceptional circumstances and will only be granted if duly justified. In any event, any extensions to the deadline to reply to questionnaires will be limited normally to 3 days, and as a rule will not exceed 7 days. Regarding time limits for the submission of other information specified in the Notice of initiation, extensions will be limited to 3 days unless exceptional circumstances are demonstrated.
10.   Non-cooperation

In cases where any interested party refuses access to or does not provide the necessary information within the time limits, or significantly impedes the investigation, findings, affirmative or negative, may be made on the basis of facts available, in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation.
Where it is found that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, the information may be disregarded and use may be made of facts available.
If an interested party does not cooperate or cooperates only partially and findings are therefore based on facts available in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation, the result may be less favourable to that party than if it had cooperated.
Failure to give a computerised response shall not be deemed to constitute non-cooperation, provided that the interested party shows that presenting the response as requested would result in an unreasonable extra burden or unreasonable additional cost. The interested party should immediately contact the Commission.
11.   Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer in trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and any other request concerning the rights of defence of interested parties and third parties as may arise during the proceeding.
The Hearing Officer may organise hearings and mediate between the interested party/-ies and Commissions services to ensure that the interested parties’ rights of defence are being fully exercised. A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. The Hearing Officer will examine the reasons for the requests. These hearings should only take place if the issues have not been settled with the Commission services in due course.
Any request must be submitted in good time and expeditiously so as not to jeopardise the orderly conduct of proceedings. To that effect, interested parties should request the intervention of the Hearing Officer at the earliest possible time following the occurrence of the event justifying such intervention. Where hearing requests are submitted outside the relevant timeframes, the Hearing Officer will also examine the reasons for such late requests, the nature of the issues raised and the impact of those issues on the rights of defence, having due regard to the interests of good administration and the timely completion of the investigation. For further information and contact details interested parties may consult the Hearing Officer’s web pages on DG Trade’s website: https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/contacts/hearing-officer_en.
12.   Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this investigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7).
A data protection notice that informs all individuals of the processing of personal data in the framework of Commission’s trade defence activities is available on DG Trade’s website: https://europa.eu/!vr4g9W


(1)  
            OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 21.

(2)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1776 of 14 September 2023 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of melamine originating in the People’s Republic of China following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 228, 15.9.2023, p. 199).

(3)  Commission Regulation (EU) No 1035/2010 of 15 November 2010 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of melamine originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ L 298, 16.11.2010, p. 10).

(4)  Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 457/2011 of 10 May 2011 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of melamine originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ L 124, 13.5.2011, p. 2).

(5)  In case of technical problems please contact the Trade Service Desk by email trade-service-desk@ec.europa.eu or by telephone +32 22979797.

(6)  A ‘Sensitive’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 19 of the basic Regulation and Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement). It is also a document protected pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).

(7)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).




ANNEX






☐


Sensitive version




☐


Version for inspection by interested parties




(tick the appropriate box)





PARTIAL INTERIM REVIEW OF THE ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES APPLICABLE TO IMPORTS OF MELAMINE ORIGINATING IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

INFORMATION FOR THE SELECTION OF THE SAMPLE OF UNRELATED IMPORTERS
This form is designed to assist unrelated importers in responding to the request for sampling information made in point 5.2.2 of the notice of initiation.
Both the Sensitive version and the version For inspection by interested parties should be returned to the Commission as set out in the notice of initiation.
1.   IDENTITY AND CONTACT DETAILS

Supply the following details about your company:






Company name


 




Address


 




Contact person


 




E-mail address


 




Telephone


 




2.   TURNOVER AND SALES VOLUME

Indicate the total turnover in euros (EUR) of the company, the value in euros (EUR) and volume in tonnes for imports and resales on the Union market after importation from the People’s Republic of China, during the review investigation period, of the product under review as defined in the notice of initiation.







 


Tonnes


Value in euros (EUR)




Total turnover of your company in euros (EUR)


 


 




Imports of the product under review originating in the People’s Republic of China


 


 




Imports of the product under review (all origins)


 


 




Resales on the Union market after importation from the People’s Republic of China of the product under review


 


 




3.   ACTIVITIES OF YOUR COMPANY AND RELATED COMPANIES (1)

Give details of the precise activities of the company and all related companies (please list them and state the relationship to your company) involved in the production and/or selling (export and/or domestic) of the product under review. Such activities could include but are not limited to purchasing the product under review, producing it under sub-contracting arrangements, or processing or trading it.







Company name and location


Activities


Relationship




 


 


 




 


 


 




 


 


 




4.   OTHER INFORMATION

Please provide any other relevant information which the company considers useful to assist the Commission in the selection of the sample.
5.   CERTIFICATION

By providing the above information, the company agrees to its possible inclusion in the sample. If the company is selected to be part of the sample, this will involve completing a questionnaire and accepting a visit at its premises in order to verify its response. If the company indicates that it does not agree to its possible inclusion in the sample, it will be deemed not to have cooperated in the investigation. The Commission’s findings for non-cooperating importers are based on the facts available and the result may be less favourable to that company than if it had cooperated.
Signature of authorised official:
Name and title of authorised official:
Date:


(1)  In accordance with Article 127 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, two persons shall be deemed to be related if: (a) they are officers or directors of the other person's business; (b) they are legally recognised partners in business; (c) they are employer and employee; (d) a third party directly or indirectly owns, controls or holds 5 % or more of the outstanding voting stock or shares of both of them; (e) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (f) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; (g) together they control a third person directly or indirectly; or (h) they are members of the same family (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558). In accordance with Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, ‘person’ means a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Union or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).



ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1595/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)