Commercial Information Circulars

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Ref : CR EIC 230/2/3/1

7 April 2004

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 88/2004

European Union (EU)* : Amendments to the Basic Anti-dumping Regulation

The Council of the European Union (the Council) has published a regulation to introduce amendments to its Basic Anti-dumping and Basic Anti-subsidy Regulations. A copy of the regulation is at Annex (pdf format) for reference.

DETAILS

2. With effect from 20 March 2004, the EU's Basic Anti-dumping Regulation has been amended to, amongst others, streamline the decision-making mechanism on imposition of trade defence measures, introduce mandatory timeframes for review investigations, rationalise the procedure in respect of withdrawal of undertakings, and set out in clearer terms what constitutes a circumvention of trade defence measures. The EU authorities consider that these amendments would introduce greater transparency, efficiency and predictability in the area of trade defence instruments.

3. Salient amendments introduced to the Basic Anti-dumping Regulation are set out below -
   1. Definitive anti-dumping measure is considered adopted unless a simple majority of EU Member States (MSS) in the Council reject the measures within one month after the European Commission (the Commission) has made a proposal. In effect, this means that MSS have to take an affirmative position to overturn a Commission proposal for all pending and newly initiated investigations. (Before the change, a Commission proposal for imposing definitive anti-dumping measures was adopted only if a simple majority of MSS voted in favour. Abstentions were, therefore, in effect counted as votes against the Commission proposal.)
   2. Mandatory time limits for completion of review investigations are introduced. "Interim review" ¹ and "expiry review" ²  investigations will need to be concluded within 15 months. (Before the change, such review investigations were only subject to an indicative timeframe of 12 months.)
   3. In the case of price undertakings, if the exporter does not respect the engagement and a price undertaking needs to be withdrawn, the Commission will, by one single legal act, withdraw the price undertaking and replace it with duties. (Before the change, two legal proceedings were required: one to withdraw the acceptance of the undertaking and another to re-impose the anti-dumping duty.)
   4. Clearer rules are introduced in the case of circumvention of an anti-dumping measure. Such rules provide details, such as, the parties who have the right to request the initiation of anti-circumvention investigations, the types of practices which constitute circumvention, and how exporters can be exempted from anti-circumvention measures if they are not involved in circumvention practices.

ENQUIRIES

4. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5351.

Yours faithfully,


(Ricky CHENG)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

1"Interim reviews" are those that take place at the request of any interested party at any time during the 5-year validity period of the trade defence measures. The mandatory deadline for completion of interim review investigation will apply to those reviews initiated on or after 20 March 2006.

2"Expiry reviews" are those that take place at the end of the 5-year validity period of the trade defence measures. The mandatory deadline for completion of expiry review investigation applies to those reviews initiated on or after 20 March 2004.