CELEX: 51983PC0715
Language: en
Date: 1983-11-24
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of hardboard originating in Czechoslovakia and Poland and definitively collecting the amounts secured by way of provisional duty certain imports of hardboard originating in Sweden (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (83) 715
Vol. 1983/0255
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concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as
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file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1.
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983,
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. September 2003
(ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                           COM(83) 715 f i n a l
                                                           Bru ssels, 24 November 1983
                                      Proposal for a
                                 COUNCI L REGULATION (EEC)
   imposing a d e f i n i t i v e anti-dumping duty on imports of hardboard
      o r i g i n a t i n g in Czechoslovakia and Poland and d e f i n i t i v e l y
      c o l l e c t i n g the amounts secured by way of provisional duty
              c e r t a i n imports of hardboard o r i g i n a t i n g in Sweden
                     (submitted to the Council by the Commission)
  COM(83) 715 f in a l
 ---pagebreak---                                  EXPLANATORY :i. Y;LRANDUM
'I. In June 1982 the Commission accepted price undertakings concerning
exports of hardboard to the Community orig i n ati n g in Finland, Sweden,
Spain c , n d in five Eastern European countries which eliminated the
dumring margins es ta blished in the course of the preceding anti-dumping
in v e s t ig a t io n .
2. In July 1983 i t was determined th a t two Swedish exporters (Swedeboard
and ASSI) and the Polish and Czechoslovakian export organi sat ions had
exported s i g n i f i c a n t q u a n t iti e s of hardboard to the Community at prices
below the undertaking leve l. Consequently, the Commission withdrew i t s
acceptance of the undertakings concerned and, on 3i August 1983, imposed
a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of hardboard from these
suppliers*
3. In the course of the subsequent in v e s t ig a t io n d e f i n i t i v e dumping margins
were es ta blis hed for each of the companies on the basis of a comparison
ot export pr ices with normal values covering the period October 1982 to
March 1983 during which the v io l a ti o n of the undertakings had been round to
have occurred. These comparisons showed dumping margins of 6,13% for
ASSI, 3,0b% tor Swedeboard, 11,33% for tne Polish and 21,13% for the
Czechoslovakian exporter.
4. With regard to in j u r y , the Commission has noted th a t there has been no
fundamental change in the s i t u a t i o n of the Community industry. While
 imports from the countries covered by p r ic e undertakings have s t a b i l i z e d ,
 EEC producers are s t i l l suffering from low capacity u t i li z a ti o r > reduced p r o f i t s
or losses and are exposed to strong p r ic e pressure due to those imports. There
 is no in dication t h a t , in the absence of p r o te c ti v e measures, the dumped
 imports would not again cause material injury to the EEC industry and the
 continued ap plication of p r o te c ti v e measures i s th e refore considered
nec ess ar y.
b. Swedeboard has offered another p r ic e undertaking which would eliminate
 the dumping margin. ASSI has stopped producing naroboard and nas sold i t $ hard­
 board mill s to another Swedish manufacturer who has also offered an undertaking.
 The Commission, a f t e r consult ations within the Advisory Committee set up oy
 Regulation (EEC) No 3017/79, considers Doth p r ic e undertakings acceptable. I t is
 not considered necessary, t h e r e f o r e , to impose d e f i n i t i v e duties on imports
  from these two Swedish companies. The Czechoslovakian export organization
  has also offered an undertaking which, a f t e r c o n s u lt a ti o n s , the Commission
 did not consider acceptable in view of the seriousness of the v io l a ti o n of
  the undertaking by t h i s company.
 6. Under these circumstances i t is proposed to impose a d e f i n i t i v e a n t i ­
 dumping duty on imports of hardboard o r ig i n a ti n g in Poland and Czechoslovakia,
  the r ate of which should be equal to the dumping margins d e f i n i t i v e l y
  e s t a b l i s h e d , and to c o l l e c t d e f i n i t i v e l y the amounts secured by way of
 pr ovisiona l duty, including those concerning imports from Sweden.
 ---pagebreak---                                    Proposal for a
                               COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of hardboard originating
in Czechoslovakia and Poland and definitively collecting the amounts secured
by way of provisional duty on certain imports of hardboard originating in
Sweden
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty e s ta blis hing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3017/79 of 20 December 1979 on
protecti on against dumped or subsidized imports from countries not members
                                                     -|
of the European Economic Community , as amended by Regulation (EEC)
No 1580/822, and in p a r t i c u l a r Artic le 12 th e r eo f .
Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission a f t e r cons ultations
within the Advisory Committee as provided for under the above Regulation,
Whereas:
Provisional action
1.    After having es ta blis hed that two Swedish companies (Swedeboard Vrena AB
and AB Statens Sk og sind ustrier (ASSI))as well as Ligna Foreign Trade
Corporation, Czechoslovakia, and Paged Foreign Trade E nter pr is e, Poland had
exported s i g n i f i c a n t q u a n t i t i e s of hardboard to the Community in v iol ati on
of the                                undertakings previously offered to and accepted by
the Commission, the Commission, by Regulation (EEC) No 2444/83 , withdrew
i t s acceptance of the price undertakings, re-opened the anti-dumping pro­
ceedings and imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on c e r t a in imports
of hardborad orig i n ati n g in Sweden, Czechoslovakia               and Poland.
  0J No L 339, 31.12.1979, p. 1.
20J No L 178, 22.06.1982, p. 9.
30J No L 241, 31.08.1983, p. 9.
 ---pagebreak---                                                - 2 -
Subsequent procedures
2.      Following the imposition of the provisional anti-dumping duty and within
the time limit set by the Regulation imposing the duty, several importers
made known t h e i r views in writing and                          some of them, as well as
Swedeboard Vrena AB and Ligna Foreign Trade Corporation, requested and
were granted a hearing.
3.      The i n v e st ig a t io n of dumping covered the period 1 October 1982 to 31 March 1983
  Hnring which the v io l a ti o n of the undertakings had been found to have
occurred.
 Dumping
 4.                 in order definitively to                    determine the margin of dumping the
 Commission compared the export pr ices of the exporters concerned with normal
 value during the i n v e st ig a t io n period.
 5.      Information regarding normal val uef or the two Swedish exporters had been
 submitted in and subsequent to the reports of April 1983.                              In add i tio n , the
 Commission ca rried out an on-the-spot inve st igation at the premises of Swedeboard
 Vrena AB. Based on t h i s information normal value for both Swedish companies
 was based on constructed value because both companies had sold like products
 on the domestic market over an extended period of time and in s u b s t a n ti a l
 q u a n t i t i e s at prices which were less than a l l costs o r d i n a r i l y incurred in
         production.         Constructed value was computed by taking each company's
 t o t a l cost of mater ial s and manufacture, including overheads, and a margin
 for p r o f i t determined to be reasonable on the basis of past experience on
the Swedish market.
 6.      In      order d e f i n i t i v e l y to e s t a b l i s h the margin of dumping for the imports from
 Czechoslovakia            and Poland , the Commission had to take account of the fact that
  these countries            are not market economy co untries . For that reason the
 Commission had to base i t s c a l c u la tio n s on the normal value in a market
 economy country.              In the preceding in v e s t ig a t io n which had led to the
 acceptance of undertakings offered by Paged and Ligna normal value was
 e s ta b lis h e d by reference to the constructed value of dark-pine hardboard, the
 lowest q u a l ity hardboard,produced in Spain.                          The reasons which led to the use
 of t h i s Spanish normal value in the preceding i n v e st ig a t io n and which are se ^ ou·)-
 ---pagebreak---                                           - 3 -
in Cormrission Regulation (EEC) Mo 1633/82 are still valid. The Commission considered, there­
 fore, that i t was appropriate again to use t h i s Spanish value in the present
 case.        For the purpose of e s ta b lis h in g t h i s normal value for the period
 under inve st ig at io n the Commission also car ried out an on-the-spot invest igat ion
 at the premises of the sole Spanish producer of the products in question,
 Tafisa SA.
 7.      Export pr ices of      a l l companies concerned were based on the prices paid
 or payable for the products sold for export to the Community during the
 period under considera tion which had been reported by all companies in April 1983 and for
 which sufficient documentary evidence had been submitted.
 8.      In comparing normal value with export pr ices the Commission took account,
 where ap propria te, of differ enc es a f f e c tin g price comparability and in
 p a r t i c u l a r of commissions paid to agents in the European Community. The
 comparisons concerning the Swedish companies were made at ex- factory level
 while the           comparisons r e l a t i n g to the East European exports were made at
  FOB level.
 9.      These comparisons show weighted average dumping margins for ASSI of
 6.13%, for Swedeboard Vrena AB of 3,05%, for Ligna of                    21.13 % and for Paged
 of         11.33 %.
 Injury and Community i n t e r e s t
 10.       In 1982, a f t e r having ca rried out anti-dumping i n v e s t ig a t io n s concerning
 imports of hardboard from various c o u n t r ie s , the Commission e s ta blis hed that
 dumped imports of hardboard, including imports from Sweden, Poland and
 Czechoslovakia, had caused material injury to the Community industry concerned
 and that p r ote cti ve measures were necessary.               Consequently, i t accepted the
 undertakings eliminating the dumping margins which were offered by a l l
 exporters involved.           While these undertakings have improved the position of
 the Community hardboard industry and imports of hardboard int o the Community
 from the countries concerned have decreased, there has been no fundamental
 change in the s i t u a t i o n of the Community industry.           I t is s t i l l characterized
   0J N° L181,25.06.1982, p. 19.
 ---pagebreak---                                               - 4 -
  by Low capacity u t i l i z a t i o n , reduced p r o f i t s or etfën Losses and high import
  p enetration. In addition, the industry is exposed to s u b s t a n ti a l price
  pressure because the undertaking p r i c e s , although eliminating the dumping
  margins, are s t i l l considerably lower than the in d u s t r y ' s break-even point.
  There is no in d i c a t io n , t h e r e f o r e , tha t in the absence of prote ctive measures,
  dumped imports of hardboard would not again cause material injury to the
  Community industry.
  11.       In addition, i t is e s s e n t i a l to ensure tha t dumped
  imports from the countries under consideration cafihot undermine the s t a b i l i t y of
  the pricing s t r u c t u r e established by the t o t a l i t y of undertakings accepted
  in the hardboard sector and to avoid an exporter who has violated his under­
    taking being placed in a more favourable position than those exporters who
  have f u ll y respected t h e i r o b l i g a ti o n s .    Protection of Community i n t e r e s t s
  theref ore c a l l s for the imposition of a d e f i n i t i v e anti-dumping duty, the
  ra te of which should be equal to the dumping margins found, and for the
  d e f i n i t i v e c o l le c t io n of the amounts secured by way of provisional duty not
  exceeding the amount of the dumping margins d e f i n i t i v e l y es ta b lis h e d .
 12.       Swedeboard Vrena AB has offered a price undertaking, eliminating the
 dumping margin found, which                      has been accepted by the Commission.       In
 a d d i tio n , ASSI has ceased producing hardboard and has sold i t s hardboard mills
 and stocks to another Swedish company.                     I t is not appropriate or necessary,
 th e r e f o r e , to impose a d e f i n i t i v e anti-dumping duty on exports made by e i t h e r
of these two companies. The Czechoslovakian export organization has also offered
an undertaking which, a f t e r c o n s u lt a ti o n s , the Commission did not consider
acceptable in view of the seriousness of the v io l a t i o n of the undertaking by
t h i s company.
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                             A r tic le 1
 1.      A d e f i n i t i v e anti-dumping duty is hereby imposed on imports of f ib r e
 building board weighing more than 0.8 g/cm3 (hardboard), f a l l i n g within
 heading No ex 44.11 of the Common Customs T a r i f f , corresponding to NIMEXE
 codes 44.11-10 and 20, o r i g i n a t i n g in Czechoslovakia and Poland.
 2.      The r at es of the duty s h a ll be based on the customs value determined in
 accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 1224/80 of 28 May 1980 on the
 val uation of goods for customs purposes                     and are as follows:
   0J No L 134, 31.05.1980, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak---                                           - 5 -
- 21.13X      i r the case of  hardboard from Czechoslovakia
- 11.33%      in the case of   hardboard from Poland.
   3.     The provisions in force concerning customs duties s h a ll apply for the
   ap plication of the duty.
                                      Artic le 2
    The amounts secured by way of provisional duty pursuant to Regulation (EEC)
    No 2444/83 shall be d e f i n i t i v e l y collected at the following rates based on
    the customs value:
 - 11.10%     in the case of   hardboard from Czechoslovakia
 - 10.30%     in the case of hardboard from Poland
 - 6.13%      in the case of hardboard exported by AB Statens Skogsi ndustrier , Sweden
 -   3.05%    in the case of hardboard exported by Swedeboard Vrena AB,                    Sweden.
                                       Artic le 3
    This Regulation s h a ll enter into force on the day following i t s publi cation
    in the O f fi c ia l Journal of the European Communities.
    This Regulation s h a ll be binding in i t s e n t i r e t y and d i r e c t l y applicable in
    a l l Member S tates .
  Done at                                                     For the Council