CELEX: 51986PC0331(02)
Language: en
Date: 1986-06-04
Title: AMENDMENTS TO THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ON CUSTOMS WAREHOUSES

No C 154/2                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                    20. 6. 86
               Notice of initiation of an investigation proceeding concerning the trend of imports into Spain of
               urea originating in certain non-Community countries, the terms on which the goods are
                                       imported and the effects on Community production
                                                           (86/C 154/02)
The Spanish authorities have informed the Commission                 Alleged injury
that imports into Spain of urea originating in countries
                                                                     It is alleged that the volume and price of the imports are
covered by Council Regulation (EEC) No 288/82 of
                                                                     depressing the prices obtained by the Spanish industry,
5 February 1982 on common rules for imports (*) had
                                                                     the alleged undercutting being of the order of 50 to
increased and would continue to increase to such levels
                                                                     55 %. The very future of the Spanish industry is said to
and/or on such terms as to cause or threaten to cause
                                                                     be in danger, with its market share looking set to drop
material injury to Spanish industry.
                                                                     substantially from 91 % in 1983, 1984 and 1985 to
                                                                     around 5 % in 1986.
The Spanish authorities           have asked   for   protective
measures to be taken.                                                Lastly, the volume and prices of the imports are alleged
                                                                     to be undermining the Spanish Government's attempts to
                                                                     remedy, by means of a restructuring plan, the financial
Product concerned                                                    difficulties into which the Spanish industry has fallen in
                                                                     recent years, partly for structural reasons and partly as a
                                                                     result of the contraction of demand in 1981, 1982 and
The product concerned by this information is urea                     1983 due to the drought.
containing more than 45 % by weight of nitrogen on the
dry anhydrous product, falling within subheading
31.02 B of the Common Customs Tariff corresponding                   Proceeding
to NIMEXE code 31.02-15.                                             The Commission has decided, after carrying out consul-
                                                                     tations, that while the information in its possession was
                                                                     not such as to warrant the adoption of a safeguard
Volume and terms of imports                                          measure, it was still sufficient to justify the initiation of
                                                                     an investigation proceeding covering the trend of imports
The Commission's information is that imports into Spain              into Spain of urea originating in non-Community
of the product in question originating in countries                  countries and has accordingly initiated an investigation
covered by Regulation (EEC) No 288/82 have increased                 pursuant to Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No
and are continuing to increase substantially, both in                288/82 of 5 February 1982 on common rules for
absolute terms and in terms of market share.                         imports.
                                                                     Any information relating to the matter under
Imports would appear to have risen from an average of                investigation may be sent in writing to the Commission
1 428 tonnes in 1983 to 1985 to 2 622 tonnes in the first            of the European Communities, Directorate-General for
three months of 1986 and look set to reach 197 072                   External Relations (Division I-C-l), rue de la Loi 200,
tonnes by the end of the year, judging by the volume of              B-1049 Brussels (telex: C O M E U B 21877).
imports authorized in the first five months of 1986.
                                                                     Interested parties may give their views in writing within
                                                                     30 days of publication of this notice, not including seven
As a percentage of visible national consumption, the                 days for postal transmission, in particular by completing
imports' market share has risen from 0,43 % in 1983,                 the questionnaire sent to the parties known to be
1984 and 1985 to a projected 59,42 % in 1986.                        concerned and providing evidence to back up their
                                                                     position.
Regarding the terms on which the goods are imported,
                                                                     In addition, the Commission will hear parties which
the data supplied indicate that prices are down sharply
                                                                     so request when stating their views in writing, provided
by comparison with past levels and, more specifically, by
                                                                     they are likely to be affected by the outcome of the
comparison with 1985 prices. They are down from Ptas
                                                                     investigation proceeding.
37,7/kg in 1985 to Ptas 16/kg in the first three months
of 1986 and are likely to fall even further to Ptas                  This notice is published in accordance with Article 6 (1)
14,74/kg over the next few months.                                   (a) of the abovementioned Regulation.
O O J N o L 3 5 , 9.2. 1982, p. 1.