Commercial Information Circulars

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Ref : EIC 230/2/3/2/13

4 September 2008

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 448/2008

European Union (EU)* : Extension of the Suspension of the Definitive Anti-dumping Duty Imposed on Imports of Silico-manganese Originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 477/2007 of 7 December 2007, the Council of the EU has published a regulation to extend the suspension of the definitive anti-dumping duty imposed on imports of silico-manganese originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China. The regulation can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:237:0001:0002:EN:PDF.

DETAILS

1.  
2. Definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of silico-manganese originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China has been imposed since 6 December 2007. Given the temporary change in market conditions observed by the European Commission (the Commission), and in particular the high level of prices of silico-manganese existing on the Community market, which was far higher than the injurious price level found in the original investigation, together with the alleged demand-supply imbalance of the product concerned, the Commission considered that the injury linked to the imports of the product concerned originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China was unlikely to resume as a result of the suspension, and decided to suspend the anti-dumping duties for nine months, with effect from 6 December 2007.
    
3. Following the suspension of the definitive anti-dumping duties, the Commission has continued to monitor the developments on the market, in particular with regard to the flow of imports and the prices of silico-manganese. A questionnaire was also sent to co-operating Community producers requesting monthly data on production, sales in volume and value on the Community market as well as profitability for the last quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008.
    
4. It is now considered that the market is in a substantially similar situation as when the measures were suspended. The injury linked to the imports of the product concerned originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China is unlikely to resume as a result of the extension of the suspension. Therefore, the suspension of the anti-dumping measures on imports of silico-manganese (including ferro-silico-manganese) is extended for a further period of one year until 6 September 2009.
    
5. The Commission will continue to monitor the development of imports and the prices of the product concerned. Should a situation arise at any time in which increased volumes at dumped prices of the product concerned from, inter alia, the Mainland of China resume and consequently cause injury to the Community industry, the Commission will take the necessary steps to reinstate the anti-dumping duty.

ENQUIRIES

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

Yours faithfully,

(TANG Yu Him)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.