Commercial Information Circulars

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

26 October 2012

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 868/2012

European Union (EU)* : Results of the Partial Reopening of the Anti-dumping Investigation Concerning Imports of Ironing Boards Originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 172/2012 of 2 March 2012, the Council of the EU has published an implementing regulation to re-impose a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of ironing boards originating in the Mainland of China and manufactured by one Chinese exporting producer, namely Zhejiang Harmonic Hardware Products Co. Ltd, Guzhou ('Harmonic'), consequent to the partial reopening of the anti-dumping investigation on imports of ironing boards originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China. The implementing regulation can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:297:0005:0008:EN:PDF.

DETAILS

2.Salient points are set out below -

BACKGROUND

3.Definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of ironing boards originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China has been imposed since 27 April 2007. The rate of duty had been 42.3% of the net, free-at-Union-frontier price before duty (except for six companies, including Harmonic, with individual duty rates ranging from 18.1% to 39.6%), consequent to previous reviews.

4.On 8 November 2011, the General Court of the EU in its judgment annulled certain articles of the original regulation of 2007 imposing the definitive anti-dumping duty in so far as these articles impose a definitive anti-dumping duty and collect definitively the provisional duty on ironing boards manufactured by Harmonic. As a consequence of the judgment, imports into the EU of ironing boards manufactured by Harmonic were no longer subject to the anti-dumping measures imposed.

5.Following the General Court's judgment, a notice was published on 2 March 2012 concerning the partial reopening of the anti-dumping investigation on imports of ironing boards originating, inter alia, in the Mainland of China. The reopening was limited in scope to the implementation of the General Court's judgment in so far as Harmonic is concerned. Consequent to the partial reopened investigation, the definitive anti-dumping duty would be re-imposed on imports of ironing boards originating in the Mainland of China and manufactured by Harmonic, with effect from 27 October 2012.

6.Separately, the European Commission published a notice on 28 June 2011 specifying that, unless a review is initiated in accordance with the relevant procedure, the anti-dumping measures on imports of ironing boards originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China would expire on 27 April 2012. On 25 April 2012, another notice was published to initiate an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures imposed on imports of ironing boards originating in, inter alia, the Mainland of China. For details, please refer to the Commercial Information Circular No. 302/2012 of 25 April 2012.

ENQUIRIES

7.For enquiries concerning the contents of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5350.

Yours faithfully,

(Leo LEUNG)
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.