L 133/226
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
17.5.2023
(86)
On 16 December 2022 , the Commission informed by a Note to interested parties of the relevant sources that it intended to use for the determination of the normal value (the Note), with Brazil as a representative country.
It also informed interested parties that it would establish SG&A costs and profits based on available information for the company Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais (‘Usiminas’) and Gerdau S/A (‘Gerdau’), producers of the product under review in the representative country.
(87)
In their comments to the Note the applicant claimed that the Commission should take into account also other factors of production used in the manufacturing of heavy plates such as wire of non-alloy aluminium, aluminium waste and scrap, ferro-alloy, ferro-silicon, water, heavy oils, acetylene etc.
(88)
In the Note the Commission presented the main factors of production.
In addition to those factors of production the Commission also added consumables and overheads as explained in recitals (139) and (149).
Furthermore, considering that the current investigation is an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) on the basic Regulation, which does not require a precise dumping margin calculation, but rather to establish the likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping, the Commission considered that in this case it could exceptionally focus on the main factors of production for the calculation of the normal value.
Furthermore, as specified in recitals (184) and (185), there were negligible imports of product concerned from the PRC during the review investigation period.
Therefore, the constructed normal value will be used only for comparison with the Chinese export price to third countries.
4.2.2.
Normal value
(89)
According to Article 2(1) of the basic Regulation, “the normal value shall normally be based on the prices paid or payable, in the ordinary course of trade, by independent customers in the exporting country”.
(90)
However, according to Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation, “in case it is determined […] that it is not appropriate to use domestic prices and costs in the exporting country due to the existence in that country of significant distortions within the meaning of point (b), the normal value shall be constructed exclusively on the basis of costs of production and sale reflecting undistorted prices or benchmarks”, and “shall include an undistorted and reasonable amount of administrative, selling and general costs and for profits”.
(91)
As further explained below, the Commission concluded in the present investigation that, based on the evidence available the application of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation was appropriate.
4.2.2.1.
Existence of significant distortions
(92)
In recent investigations concerning the steel sector in the PRC (24), the Commission found that significant distortions in the sense of Article 2(6a)(b) of the basic Regulation were present.
(24) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2068 of 26 October 2022 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain cold-rolled flat steel products originating in the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 149); Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/191 of 16 February 2022 imposing a definitive antidumping duty on imports of certain iron or steel fasteners originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ L 36, 17.2.2022, p. 1); Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/95 of 24 January 2022 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain tube and pipe fittings, of iron or steel, originating in the People’s Republic of China, as extended to imports of certain tube and pipe fittings, of iron or steel consigned from Taiwan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, whether declared as originating in these countries or not, following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 16, 25.1.2022, p. 36); Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2239 of 15 December 2021 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain utility scale steel wind towers originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ L 450, 16.12.2021, p. 59); Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/635 of 16 April 2021 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain welded pipes and tubes of iron or non-alloyed steel originating in Belarus, the People’s Republic of China and Russia following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 132, 19.4.2021, p. 145).