Commercial Information Circulars
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Ref : CR EIC 230/2/1/1/3
31 December 2013
Dear Sirs,
Commercial Information Circular No. 1072/2013
European Union (EU) * : Initiation of a Countervailing Proceeding Concerning Imports of Polyester Staple Fibres Originating in the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam
The European Commission (the Commission) has issued a notice to announce the initiation of a countervailing proceeding on imports of polyester staple fibres originating in the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam. The notice can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2013:372:0031:0040:EN:PDF
DETAILS
2.Salient points are set out below-
| (a) Date of Publication of the Notice | : | 19 December 2013 |
| (b) Product Coverage | : |
Synthetic staple fibres of polyesters, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning, currently falling within CN code 5503 20 00. (This CN code is given for information only.)
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| (c) Procedures | : |
In view of the potentially large number of exporting producers in the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam involved in the proceeding and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may apply sampling. To enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all exporting producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, are requested to make themselves known to the Commission by providing information on their company(ies) requested in Annex I to the notice, including, inter alia, their identities and contact details, turnover and sales volume, activities of their company/related companies and indication of agreement to their possible inclusion in the sample which will involve completing a questionnaire and accepting a visit at their premises to verify their responses. Such information should reach the Commission within 15 days from 19 December 2013, unless otherwise specified.
All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample must do so within 21 days from 19 December 2013, unless otherwise specified.
If a sample is necessary, the exporting producers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of exports to the Union which can reasonably be investigated within the time available. All known exporting producers, the authorities of the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam, and associations of exporting producers will be notified by the Commission, via the authorities of the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam if appropriate, of the companies selected to be in the sample. All exporting producers selected to be in the sample and the authorities of the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.
Companies that have agreed to their possible inclusion in the sample but are not selected will be considered to be cooperating ("non-sampled cooperating exporting producers"). Non-sampled cooperating exporting producers wishing to claim an individual subsidy margin must request a questionnaire and return it duly completed within 37 days from the date of notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.
Exporting producers claiming an individual subsidy margin should be aware that the Commission may nonetheless decide not to determine their individual subsidy margin if, for instance, the number of exporting producers is so large that such determination would be unduly burdensome and would prevent the timely completion of the investigation.
To determine injury based on positive evidence and objective examination of, inter alia, the volume of the subsidised imports, and in view of the large number of Union producers involved in this proceeding, the Commission has decided to apply sampling, and provisionally selected a sample of Union producers. All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample must do so within 21 days from 19 December 2013, unless otherwise specified.
E-mail for submissions related to the subsidy side of the investigation (exporting producers in the Mainland of China) :
Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer of DG Trade, who acts as an interface between the interested parties and the Commission investigation services through reviewing requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and requests by third parties to be heard. The Hearing Officer may organise a hearing with an individual interested party and mediate to ensure that the interested parties' rights of defence are being fully exercised. A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the investigation, the request must be submitted within 15 days from 19 December 2013. For further information and contact details, interested parties may consult the Hearing Officer's web pages on DG Trade's website:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/degucht/contact/hearing-officer/. |
| (d) Investigation Schedule | : | Provisional measures may be imposed no later than nine months from 19 December 2013. Investigation will be concluded within 13 months from 19 December 2013. |
BACKGROUND
3.The Commission initiated the countervailing proceeding on the basis of a complaint lodged on 4 November 2013 by the European Man-made Fibres Association (the complainant) on behalf of producers representing more than 25% of the total Union production of polyester staple fibres. The prima facie evidence provided by the complainant is said to have showed that the producers of the concerned product from the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam have benefited from a number of subsidies granted by the Government of the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam, respectively and that imports of the product under investigation from the Mainland of China, India and Vietnam have increased overall in absolute terms and have increased in terms of market share. The import volume and the prices of the product under investigation are said to have, among other consequences, a negative impact on the level of prices charged and the market share held by the Union industry, resulting in substantial adverse effects on the overall performance, the financial situation and the employment situation of the Union industry.
4.The Commission imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of polyester staple fibres originating in the Mainland of China during 18 March 2005 to 17 March 2010. For details, please refer to the Commercial Information Circular No. 333/2011 of 10 June 2011.
ENQUIRIES
5.For enquiries concerning the contents of this circular, please contact Ms Angela YUEN at telephone number 3403 6352 or the undersigned at 2398 5427.
Yours faithfully,
(Miss Anna CHEUNG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry
*The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, 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.
| Note : | While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same. |