Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community
Modified by
Council Regulation (EC) No 2331/96of 2 December 1996amending Regulation (EC) No 384/96 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community, 396R2331, December 6, 1996
Council Regulation (EC) No 905/98of 27 April 1998, 398R0905, April 30, 1998
Council Regulation (EC) No 2238/2000of 9 October 2000amending Regulation (EC) No 384/96 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community, 300R2238, October 11, 2000
Council Regulation (EC) No 1972/2002of 5 November 2002amending Regulation (EC) No 384/96 on the protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community, 302R1972, November 7, 2002
Council Regulation (EC) No 461/2004of 8 March 2004amending Regulation (EC) No 384/96 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community and Regulation (EC) No 2026/97 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Community, 304R0461, March 13, 2004
Council Regulation (EC) No 2117/2005of 21 December 2005amending Regulation (EC) No 384/96 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community, 305R2117, December 23, 2005
Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96of 22 December 1995on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European CommunityTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof,Having regard to the Regulations establishing the common organization of agricultural markets and the Regulations adopted pursuant to Article 235 of the Treaty applicable to goods manufactured from agricultural products, and in particular the provisions of those Regulations which allow for derogation from the general principle that protective measures at frontiers may be replaced solely by the measures provided for in those Regulations,Having regard to the proposal from the CommissionOJ No C 319, 30. 11. 1995.,Having regard to the opinion of the European ParliamentOJ No C 17, 22. 1. 1996.,(1)Whereas, by Regulation (EC) No 2423/88OJ No L 209, 2. 8. 1988, p. 1, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 522/94 (OJ No L 66, 10. 3. 1994, p. 10)., the Council adopted common rules for protection against dumped or subsidized imports from countries which are not members of the European Community;(2)Whereas those rules were adopted in accordance with existing international obligations, in particular those arising from Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (hereinafter referred to as "GATT"), from the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT (1979 Anti-Dumping Code) and from the Agreement on Interpretation and Application of Articles VI, XVI and XXIII of the GATT (Code on Subsidies and Countervailing Duties);(3)Whereas the multilateral trade negotiations concluded in 1994 have led to new Agreements on the implementation of Article VI of GATT and it is therefore appropriate to amend the Community rules in the light of these new Agreements; whereas is it also desirable, in the light of the different nature of the new rules for dumping and subsidies respectively, to have a separate body of Community rules in each of those two areas; whereas, consequently, the new rules on protection against subsidies and countervailing duties are contained in a separate Regulation;(4)Whereas, in applying the rules it is essential, in order to maintain the balance of rights and obligations which the GATT Agreement establishes, that the Community take account of how they are interpreted by the Community's major trading partners;(5)Whereas the new agreement on dumping, namely, the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1994 Anti-Dumping Agreement"), contains new and detailed rules, relating in particular to the calculation of dumping, procedures for initiating and pursuing an investigation, including the establishment and treatment of the facts, the imposition of provisional measures, the imposition and collection of anti-dumping duties, the duration and review of anti-dumping measures and the public disclosure of information relating to anti-dumping investigations; whereas, in view of the extent of the changes and to ensure a proper and transparent application of the new rules, the language of the new agreements should be brought into Community legislation as far as possible;(6)Whereas it is desirable to lay down clear and detailed rules on the calculation of normal value; whereas in particular such value should in all cases be based on representative sales in the ordinary course of trade in the exporting country; whereas, it is expedient to define the circumstances in which domestic sales may be considered to be made at a loss and may be disregarded, and in which recourse may be had to remaining sales, or to constructed normal value, or to sales to a third country; whereas it is also desirable to provide for a proper allocation of costs, even in start-up situations; whereas it is also appropriate to lay down guidance as to definition of start-up and the extent and method of allocation; whereas it is also necessary, when constructing normal value, to indicate the methodology that is to be applied in determining the amounts for selling, general and administrative costs and the profit margin that should be included in such value;(7)Whereas when determining normal value for non-market economy countries, it appears prudent to set out rules for choosing the appropriate market-economy third country that is to be used for such purpose and, where it is not possible to find a suitable third country, to provide that normal value may be established on any other reasonable basis;(8)Whereas it is expedient to define the export price and to enumerate the adjustments which are to be made in those cases where a reconstruction of this price from the first open-market price is deemed necessary;(9)Whereas, for the purpose of ensuring a fair comparison between export price and normal value, it is advisable to list the factors which may affect prices and price comparability and to lay down specific rules as to when and how the adjustments should be made, including the fact that any duplication of adjustments should be avoided; whereas it is also necessary to provide that comparison may be made using average prices although individual export prices may be compared to an average normal value where the former vary by customer, region or time period;(10)Whereas it is desirable to lay down clear and detailed guidance as to the factors which may be relevant for the determination of whether the dumped imports have caused material injury or are threatening to cause injury; whereas, in demonstrating that the volume and price levels of the imports concerned are responsible for injury sustained by a Community industry, attention should be given to the effect of other factors and in particular prevailing market conditions in the Community;(11)Whereas it is advisable to define the term "Community industry" and to provide that parties related to exporters may be excluded from such industry and to define the term "related"; whereas, it is also necessary to provide for anti-dumping action to be taken on behalf of producers in a region of the Community and to lay down guidelines on the definition of such region;(12)Whereas it is necessary to lay down who may lodge an anti-dumping complaint, including the extent to which it should be supported by the Community industry, and the information on dumping, injury and causation which such complaint should contain; whereas it is also expedient to specify the procedures for the rejection of complaints or the initiation of proceedings;(13)Whereas it is necessary to lay down the manner in which interested parties should be given notice of the information which the authorities require, and should have ample opportunity to present all relevant evidence and to defend their interests; whereas it is also desirable to set out clearly the rules and procedures to be followed during the investigation, in particular the rules whereby interested parties are to make themselves known, present their views and submit information within specified time limits, if such views and information are to be taken into account; whereas it is also appropriate to set out the conditions under which an interested party may have access to, and comment on, information presented by other interested parties; whereas there should also be cooperation between the Member States and the Commission in the collection of information;(14)Whereas it is necessary to lay down the conditions under which provisional duties may be imposed, including the condition that they may be imposed no earlier than 60 days from initiation and not later than nine months thereafter; whereas, for administrative reasons, it is also necessary to provide that such duties may in all cases be imposed by the Commission, either directly for a nine-month period or in two stages of six and three months;(15)Whereas it is necessary to specify procedures for accepting undertakings which eliminate dumping and injury instead of imposing provisional or definitive duties; whereas it is also appropriate to lay down the consequences of breach or withdrawal of undertakings and that provisional duties may be imposed in cases of suspected violation or where further investigation is necessary to supplement the findings; whereas, in accepting undertakings, care should be taken that the proposed undertakings, and their enforcement, do not lead to anti-competitive behaviour;(16)Whereas it is necessary to provide that the termination of cases should, irrespective of whether definitive measures are adopted or not, normally take place within 12 months, and in no case later than 15 months, from the initiation of the investigation; whereas investigations or proceedings should be terminated where the dumping is de minimis or the injury is negligible, and it is appropriate to define those terms; whereas, where measures are to be imposed, it is necessary to provide for the termination of investigations and to lay down that measures should be less than the margin of dumping if such lesser amount would remove the injury, as well as to specify the method of calculating the level of measures in cases of sampling;(17)Whereas it is necessary to provide for retroactive collection of provisional duties if that is deemed appropriate and to define the circumstances which may trigger the retroactive application of duties to avoid the undermining of the definitive measures to be applied; whereas it is also necessary to provide that duties may be applied retroactively in cases of breach or withdrawal of undertakings;(18)Whereas it is necessary to provide that measures are to lapse after five years unless a review indicates that they should be maintained; whereas it is also necessary to provide, in cases where sufficient evidence is submitted of changed circumstances, for interim reviews or for investigations to determine whether refunds of anti-dumping duties are warranted; whereas it is also appropriate to lay down that in any recalculation of dumping which necessitates a reconstruction of export prices, duties are not to be treated as a cost incurred between importation and resale where the said duty is being reflected in the prices of the products subject to measures in the Community;(19)Whereas it is necessary to provide specifically for the reassessment of export prices and dumping margins where the duty is being absorbed by the exporter through a form of compensatory arrangement and the measures are not being reflected in the prices of the products subject to measures in the Community;(20)Whereas the 1994 Anti-Dumping Agreement does not contain provisions regarding the circumvention of anti-dumping measures, though a separate GATT Ministerial Decision recognizes circumvention as a problem and has referred it to the GATT Anti-dumping Committee for resolution; whereas given the failure of the multilateral negotiations so far and pending the outcome of the referral to the GATT Anti-Dumping Committee, it is necessary to introduce new provisions into Community legislation to deal with practices, including mere assembly of goods in the Community or a third country, which have as their main aim the circumvention of anti-dumping measures;(21)Whereas it is expedient to permit suspension of anti-dumping measures where there is a temporary change in market conditions which makes the continued imposition of such measures temporarily inappropriate;(22)Whereas it is necessary to provide that imports under investigation may be made subject to registration upon importation in order to enable measures to be applied subsequently against such imports;(23)Whereas in order to ensure proper enforcement of measures, it is necessary that Member States monitor, and report to the Commission, the import trade of products subject to investigation or subject to measures, and also the amount of duties collected under this Regulation;(24)Whereas it is necessary to provide for consultation of an Advisory Committee at regular and specified stages of the investigation; whereas, the Committee should consist of representatives of Member States with a representative of the Commission as chairman;(25)Whereas it is expedient to provide for verification visits to check information submitted on dumping and injury, such visits being, however, conditional on proper replies to questionnaires being received;(26)Whereas it is essential to provide for sampling in cases where the number of parties or transactions is large in order to permit completion of investigations within the appointed time limits;(27)Whereas it is necessary to provide that where parties do not cooperate satisfactorily other information may be used to establish findings and that such information may be less favourable to the parties than if they had cooperated;(28)Whereas provision should be made for the treatment of confidential information so that business secrets are not divulged;(29)Whereas it is essential that provision be made for proper disclosure of essential facts and considerations to parties which qualify for such treatment and that such disclosure be made, with due regard to the decision-making process in the Community, within a time period which permits parties to defend their interests;(30)Whereas it is prudent to provide for an administrative system under which arguments can be presented as to whether measures are in the Community interest, including the consumers' interest, and to lay down the time periods within which such information has to be presented as well as the disclosure rights of the parties concerned;(31)Whereas, by Regulation (EC) No 3283/94 of 22 December 1994 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European CommunityOJ No L 349, 31. 12. 1994, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1251/95 (OJ No L 122, 2. 6. 1995, p. 1)., the Council repealed Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88 and instituted a new common system of defence against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community;(32)Whereas significant errors in the text of Regulation (EC) No 3283/94 became apparent on publication;(33)Whereas, moreover, that Regulation has already been twice amended;(34)Whereas, in the interests of clarity, transparency and legal certainty, that Regulation should therefore be repealed and replaced, without prejudice to the anti-dumping proceedings already initiated under it or under Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: