Commercial Information Circulars

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

15 August 2014

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No.751/2014

European Union (EU) * : Initiation of a Countervailing Proceeding Concerning Imports of Stainless Steel Cold-rolled Flat Products Originating in the Mainland of China

The European Commission (the Commission) has issued a notice to announce the initiation of a countervailing proceeding on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in the Mainland of China. The notice can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014XC0814(02)&from=EN.

DETAILS

2.Salient points are set out below-

(a) Date of Publication of the Notice	:	14 August 2014
(b) Product Coverage	:	Flat-rolled products of stainless steel, not further worked than cold-rolled (cold-reduced), currently falling within CN codes 7219 31 00, 7219 32 10, 7219 32 90, 7219 33 10, 7219 33 90, 7219 34 10, 7219 34 90, 7219 35 10, 7219 35 90, 7220 20 21, 7220 20 29, 7220 20 41, 7220 20 49, 7220 20 81 and 7220 20 89. These CN codes are given for information only.
(c) Procedures	:	In view of the potentially large number of exporting producers in the Mainland of China 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 14 August 2014, 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 14 August 2014, 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 and associations of exporting producers will be notified by the Commission, via the authorities of the Mainland of China 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 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 14 August 2014, unless otherwise specified. All interested parties are invited to make their views known, submit information and provide supporting evidence within 37 days from 14 August 2014, unless otherwise specified. All interested parties may request to be heard by the Commission investigation services. Any request to be heard 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 14 August 2014. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within the specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties. Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests by e-mail including scanned powers of attorney and certification sheets, with the exception of voluminous replies which shall be submitted on a CD-ROM or DVD by hand or by registered mail. By using e-mail, interested parties express their agreement with the rules applicable to electronic submissions contained in the document 'CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN TRADE DEFENCE CASES' published on the website of the Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade): http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/june/tradoc_148003.pdf. The interested parties must indicate their name, address, telephone and a valid e-mail address and they should ensure that the provided e-mail address is a functioning official business e-mail which is checked on a daily basis. Once contact details are provided, the Commission will communicate with interested parties by e-mail only, unless they explicitly request to receive all documents from the Commission by another means of communication or unless the nature of the document to be sent requires the use of a registered mail. For further rules and information concerning correspondence with the Commission including principles that apply to submissions by e-mail, interested parties should consult the communication instructions with interested parties referred to in the notice. Commission address for correspondence: European Commission Directorate-General for Trade Directorate H Office: CHAR 04/034 1049 Brussels Belgium E-mail: TRADE-AS609-SSCR-SUBSIDY@ec.europa.eu 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 14 August 2014. 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 14 August 2014. Investigation will be concluded within 13 months from 14 August 2014.

BACKGROUND

3.The Commission has initiated the countervailing proceeding on the basis of a complaint lodged on 1 July 2014 by Eurofer (the complainant) on behalf of producers representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products. 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 have benefited from a number of subsidies granted by the Government of the Mainland of China and that imports of the product under investigation from the Mainland of China have increased overall in absolute terms and have increased in terms of market share. The volume and the prices of the imported product under investigation are said to have had, among other consequences, a negative impact on the quantities sold, 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.Separately, the Commission has initiated an anti-dumping proceeding on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products originating in the Mainland of China on 26 June 2014. For details, please refer to the Commercial Information Circular No. 616/2014 of 27 June 2014.

ENQUIRIES

5.For enquiries concerning the contents of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5684.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Stella CHAN)

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 1:	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.
Note 2:	The biweekly newsletter "Business Alert - EU" of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council provides up-to-date information on the latest developments in EU trade policy and trade regulations. The newsletter is available for free e-subscription and can be accessed through http://www.tdctrade.com/alert/eualert.htm.