CELEX: C1996/064/36
Language: en
Date: 1996-03-02 00:00:00
Title: Action brought on 19 December 1995 by the Committee of European Copier Manufacturers (Cecom) against the Council of the European Union (Case T-232/95)

No C 64/ 18              EN                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                       2 . 3 . 96
        those institutions have unlawfully failed to take              years from the entry into force of Regulation ( EC )
        appropriate and timely steps to eradicate such                 No 2380/95 is invalid . In its submission, the second
        uncertainty .                                                  paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation ( EC ) No 2380/95 is
                                                                       invalid on the following grounds :
The loss which the applicant has suffered and will suffer falls
into two categories :
                                                                       ( a ) infringement of Article 15 ( 1 ) of Regulation ( EEC )
( a ) 'current loss' — the loss of turnover and profit that is               No 2423/88 : under this provision, anti-dumping duties
        already being sustained as a result of a current fall in             are to remain valid not only for five years from their
        demand for fur pelts and related products, in the                    entry into force, but for five years from the date on
        expectation that such pelts will or may not be able to be            which they were last modified or confirmed . That is a
        imported after 1 January 1996 ;                                      mandatory provision from which the Council may not
                                                                             derogate, and indeed has not derogated in its practice to
( b ) 'future loss' — the future losses of turnover and profit               date. The Regulation does not state any reason why
        that will be suffered as and when any import ban takes               there should be a derogation in favour of plain paper
        effect .                                                             photocopiers with a speed of more than 75 copies per
                                                                             minute ( Article 190 , EC Treaty );
                                                                       ( b ) in the alternative, manifest error of assessment in the
                                                                             shortening of the five-year period to two years : the
Action brought on 19 December 1995 by the Committee of                       restriction of the validity of Regulation ( EC )
European Copier Manufacturers ( Cecom ) against the                          No 2380/95 to two years clearly contradicts the factual
                  Council of the European Union
                                                                             findings by the Community institutions in the
                                                                             investigation proceedings . Significant dumping was
                          ( Case T-232/95 )                                  established, as was significant injury to the Community
                             ( 96/C 64/36 )                                  industry and the existence of a Community interest in
                                                                             continuing anti-dumping protection . Five years of
                  (Language of the case: German)                             anti-dumping measures are necessary in order to
                                                                             counteract the harmful dumping. Regulation ( EC )
                                                                             No 2380/95 does not state why in the case of plain
An action against the Council of the European Union was                      paper photocopiers with a speed of over 75 copies per
brought before the Court of First Instance of the European                   minute, which are protected against harmful dumping
Communities on 19 December 1995 by the Committee of                          for the first time by that Regulation, the protection is to
European Copier Manufacturers ( Cecom ) of Cologne,                          last only two years ( Article 190 , EC Treaty );
represented by Dietrich Ehle and Volker Schiller
( Rechtsanwalte ) of Cologne, with an address for service in
Luxembourg at the Chambers of Marc Lucius                              ( c ) disregard of the structure of the basic anti-dumping
( Rechtsanwalt), 6 Rue Michel Welter .                                       Regulation, especially the balance of rights and duties
                                                                             between the Community industry which has been
The applicant claims that the Court should :                                 injured and the dumping exporters and participating
                                                                             importers : when harmful dumping is established , the
— annul the second paragraph of Article 3 of Regulation                      rules require the Community industry to be protected
      ( EC ) No 2380/95 of 2 October 1995 ( OJ No L 244 ,                    for five years . That is balanced by Article 11 ( 3 ) of
      1995 , p. 1 ) imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on               Regulation ( EC ) No 3283/94 , which gives exporters
      imports of plain paper photocopiers originating in Japan               and importers the possibility of requesting a review,
      in so far as it provides that the Regulation is to expire              and by Article 11 ( 8 ) of the same Regulation, whereby
      two years after its entry into force,                                  importers may request a refund of anti-dumping duties
                                                                             in certain circumstances;
— in the event of the claim being successful, and in so far as
      may be necessary, order that the anti-dumping duties
      introduced by Article 1 of Regulation ( EC ) No 2380/95          ( d ) the Community industry is prevented from effectively
      are to remain in force, even after the expiry of the                   defending and asserting its rights : if the validity of
      two-year period, until the relevant institutions have                  anti-dumping measures is limited to two years from
      taken the measures required by the judgment of the                     their entry into force, the injured Community industry
      Court,                                                                 is clearly hindered from making appropriate
                                                                             and successful use of its rights under Article 12
— order the Chamber to pay the costs of these                                 ( effects of anti-dumping duties ) and Article 13
      proceedings.                                                            ( anti-circumvention ) of Regulation ( EC ) No
                                                                              3283/94 .
 Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
The applicant maintains that the provision whereby the
 anti-dumping duties on photocopiers are to expire after two