Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union (codification)
Modified by
- Regulation (EU) 2017/2321 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 12 December 2017amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union, 32017R2321, December 19, 2017
- Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 30 May 2018amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union, 32018R0825, June 7, 2018
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1173of 4 June 2020amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union as regards the duration of the period of pre-disclosure, 32020R1173, August 10, 2020
(a) a product is considered to be subsidised if it benefits from a countervailable subsidy as defined in Articles 3 and 4. Such subsidy may be granted by the government of the country of origin of the imported product, or by the government of an intermediate country from which the product is exported to the Union, known for the purposes of this Regulation as "the country of export"; (b) "government" means a government or any public body within the territory of the country of origin or export; (c) "like product" means a product which is identical, that is to say, alike in all respects, to the product under consideration, or, in the absence of such a product, another product which, although not alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the product under consideration; (d) "injury", unless otherwise specified, means material injury to the Union industry, threat of material injury to the Union industry or material retardation of the establishment of such an industry, and shall be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of Article 8.
1. (a) there is a financial contribution by a government in the country of origin or export, that is to say, where: (i) a government practice involves a direct transfer of funds (for example, grants, loans, equity infusion), potential direct transfers of funds or liabilities (for example, loan guarantees); (ii) government revenue that is otherwise due is forgone or not collected (for example, fiscal incentives such as tax credits). In this regard, the exemption of an exported product from duties or taxes borne by the like product when destined for domestic consumption, or the remission of such duties or taxes in amounts not in excess of those which have been accrued, shall not be deemed to be a subsidy, provided that such an exemption is granted in accordance with the provisions of Annexes I, II and III; (iii) a government provides goods or services other than general infrastructure, or purchases goods; (iv) a government: makes payments to a funding mechanism, or entrusts or directs a private body to carry out one or more of the type of functions illustrated in points (i), (ii) and (iii) which would normally be vested in the government, and the practice, in no real sense, differs from practices normally followed by governments;
or (b) there is any form of income or price support within the meaning of Article XVI of the GATT 1994; and
2. a benefit is thereby conferred.
(a) where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, explicitly limits access to a subsidy to certain enterprises, such a subsidy shall be specific; (b) where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, establishes objective criteria or conditions governing the eligibility for, and the amount of, a subsidy, specificity shall not exist, provided that the eligibility is automatic and that such criteria and conditions are strictly adhered to; (c) if, notwithstanding any appearance of non-specificity resulting from the application of the principles laid down in points (a) and (b), there are reasons to believe that the subsidy may in fact be specific, other factors may be considered. Such factors are: use of a subsidy programme by a limited number of certain enterprises; predominant use by certain enterprises; the granting of disproportionately large amounts of subsidy to certain enterprises; the manner in which discretion has been exercised by the granting authority in the decision to grant a subsidy. In this regard, information on the frequency with which applications for a subsidy are refused or approved and the reasons for such decisions shall, in particular, be considered.
(a) subsidies contingent, in law or in fact, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon export performance, including those illustrated in Annex I; (b) subsidies contingent, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon the use of domestic over imported goods.
(a) government provision of equity capital shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless the investment can be regarded as inconsistent with the usual investment practice, including for the provision of risk capital, of private investors in the territory of the country of origin and/or export; (b) a loan by a government shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless there is a difference between the amount that the firm receiving the loan pays on the government loan and the amount that the firm would pay for a comparable commercial loan which the firm could actually obtain on the market. In that event the benefit shall be the difference between those two amounts; (c) a loan guarantee by a government shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless there is a difference between the amount that the firm receiving the guarantee pays on a loan guaranteed by the government and the amount that the firm would pay for a comparable commercial loan in the absence of the government guarantee. In that case the benefit shall be the difference between those two amounts, adjusted for any differences in fees; (d) the provision of goods or services or purchase of goods by a government shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless the provision is made for less than adequate remuneration or the purchase is made for more than adequate remuneration. The adequacy of remuneration shall be determined in relation to prevailing market conditions for the product or service in question in the country of provision or purchase, including price, quality, availability, marketability, transportation and other conditions of purchase or sale. If there are no such prevailing market terms and conditions for the product or service in question in the country of provision or purchase which can be used as appropriate benchmarks, the following rules shall apply: (i) the terms and conditions prevailing in the country concerned shall be adjusted, on the basis of actual costs, prices and other factors available in that country, by an appropriate amount which reflects normal market terms and conditions; or (ii) when appropriate, the terms and conditions prevailing in the market of another country or on the world market which are available to the recipient shall be used.
(a) any application fee or other costs necessarily incurred in order to qualify for, or to obtain, the subsidy; (b) export taxes, duties or other charges levied on the export of the product to the Union specifically intended to offset the subsidy.
(a) the volume of the subsidised imports and the effect of the subsidised imports on prices in the Union market for like products; and (b) the consequent impact of those imports on the Union industry.
(a) the amount of countervailable subsidies established in relation to the imports from each country is more than de minimis as defined in Article 14(5) and the volume of imports from each country is not negligible; and(b) a cumulative assessment of the effects of the imports is appropriate in the light of the conditions of competition between imported products and the conditions of competition between the imported products and the like Union product.
(a) the nature of the subsidy or subsidies in question and the trade effects likely to arise therefrom; (b) a significant rate of increase of subsidised imports into the Union market indicating the likelihood of substantially increased imports; (c) whether there is sufficient freely disposable capacity on the part of the exporter or an imminent and substantial increase in such capacity indicating the likelihood of substantially increased subsidised exports to the Union, account being taken of the availability of other export markets to absorb any additional exports; (d) whether imports are entering at prices that would, to a significant degree, depress prices or prevent price increases which otherwise would have occurred, and would probably increase demand for further imports; (e) inventories of the product being investigated.
(a) when producers are related to the exporters or importers, or are themselves importers of the allegedly subsidised product, the term "Union industry" may be interpreted as referring to the rest of the producers; (b) in exceptional circumstances, the territory of the Union may, for the production in question, be divided into two or more competitive markets and the producers within each market may be regarded as a separate industry if: (i) the producers within such a market sell all or almost all of their production of the product in question in that market; and (ii) the demand in that market is not to any substantial degree met by producers of the product in question located elsewhere in the Union. In such circumstances, injury may be found to exist even where a major portion of the total Union industry is not injured, provided that there is a concentration of subsidised imports into such an isolated market and provided further that the subsidised imports are causing injury to the producers of all or almost all of the production within such a market.
(a) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (b) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; or (c) together they directly or indirectly control a third person, provided that there are grounds for believing or suspecting that the effect of the relationship is such as to cause the producer concerned to behave differently from non-related producers.
(a) the identity of the complainant and a description of the volume and value of the Union production of the like product by the complainant. Where a written complaint is made on behalf of the Union industry, the complaint shall identify the industry on behalf of which the complaint is made by a list of all known Union producers of the like product (or associations of Union producers of the like product) and, to the extent possible, a description of the volume and value of Union production of the like product accounted for by such producers; (b) a complete description of the allegedly subsidised product, the names of the country or countries of origin or export in question, the identity of each known exporter or foreign producer and a list of known persons importing the product in question; (c) evidence with regard to the existence, amount, nature and countervailability of the subsidies in question; (d) the changes in the volume of the allegedly subsidised imports, the effect of those imports on prices of the like product in the Union market and the consequent impact of the imports on the Union industry, as demonstrated by relevant factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the Union industry, such as those listed in Article 8(2) and (4).
(a) proceedings have been initiated in accordance with Article 10; (b) a notice has been given to that effect and interested parties have been given an adequate opportunity to submit information and make comments in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 10(12); (c) a provisional affirmative determination has been made that the imported product benefits from countervailable subsidies and consequent injury to the Union industry; and (d) the Union interest calls for intervention to prevent such injury.
(a) the country of origin and/or export agrees to eliminate or limit the subsidy or take other measures concerning its effects; or (b) any exporter undertakes to revise its prices or to cease exports to the area in question as long as such exports benefit from countervailable subsidies, if the injurious effect of the subsidies is thereby eliminated.
(a) the imports have been registered in accordance with Article 24(5); (b) the importers concerned have been given an opportunity to comment by the Commission; (c) there are critical circumstances where for the subsidised product in question injury which is difficult to repair is caused by massive imports in a relatively short period of a product benefiting from countervailable subsidies under the terms of this Regulation; and (d) it is deemed necessary, in order to preclude the recurrence of such injury, to assess countervailing duties retroactively on those imports.
(a) expire in investigations pursuant to Article 18; (b) expire in the case of investigations carried out pursuant to Articles 18 and 19 in parallel, where either the investigation pursuant to Article 18 was initiated while a review under Article 19 was ongoing in the same proceedings or where such reviews were initiated at the same time; or (c) remain unchanged in investigations pursuant to Articles 19 and 20.
(a) the slight modification of the product concerned to make it fall under customs codes which are normally not subject to the measures, provided that the modification does not alter its essential characteristics; (b) the consignment of the product subject to measures via third countries; (c) the reorganisation by exporters or producers of their patterns and channels of sales in the country subject to measures in order to eventually have their products exported to the Union through producers benefiting from an individual duty rate lower than that applicable to the products of the manufacturers.
(a) any special rules laid down in agreements concluded between the Union and third countries; (b) the Union Regulations in the agricultural sector and Council Regulations (EC) No 1667/2006 Council Regulation (EC) No 1667/2006 of 7 November 2006 on glucose and lactose (OJ L 312, 11.11.2006, p. 1 ).Council Regulation (EC) No 614/2009 of 7 July 2009 on the common system of trade for ovalbumin and lactalbumin (OJ L 181, 14.7.2009, p. 8 ).Council Regulation (EC) No 1216/2009 of 30 November 2009 laying down the trade arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products (OJ L 328, 15.12.2009, p. 10 ).(c) special measures, provided that such action does not run counter to obligations under the GATT 1994.
(a) The provision by governments of direct subsidies to a firm or an industry contingent upon export performance. (b) Currency retention schemes or any similar practices which involve a bonus on exports. (c) Internal transport and freight charges on export shipments, provided or mandated by governments, on terms more favourable than for domestic shipments. (d) The provision by governments or their agencies either directly or indirectly through government-mandated schemes, of imported or domestic products or services for use in the production of exported goods, on terms or conditions more favourable than for provision of like or directly competitive products or services for use in the production of goods for domestic consumption, if (in the case of products) such terms or conditions are more favourable than those commercially available "Commercially available" means that the choice between domestic and imported products is unrestricted and depends only on commercial considerations. (e) The full or partial exemption, remission, or deferral Deferral may not amount to an export subsidy where, for example, appropriate interest charges are collected. For the purposes of this Regulation: "direct taxes" means taxes on wages, profits, interests, rents, royalties, and all other forms of income, and taxes on the ownership of real property, "import charges" means tariffs, duties, and other fiscal charges not elsewhere enumerated in this footnote that are levied on imports, "indirect taxes" means sales, excise, turnover, value added, franchise, stamp, transfer, inventory and equipment taxes, border taxes and all taxes other than direct taxes and import charges, "prior-stage" indirect taxes are those levied on goods or services used directly or indirectly in making the product, "cumulative" indirect taxes are multi-staged taxes levied where there is no mechanism for subsequent crediting of the tax if the goods or services subject to tax at one stage of production are used in a succeeding state of production, "remission" of taxes includes the refund or rebate of taxes, "remission or drawback" includes the full or partial exemption or deferral of import charges.
(f) The allowance of special deductions directly related to exports or export performance, over and above those granted in respect of production for domestic consumption, in the calculation of the base on which direct taxes are charged. (g) The exemption or remission, in respect of the production and distribution of exported products, of indirect taxes See footnote 2 to point (e). (h) The exemption, remission or deferral of prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes See footnote 2 to point (e). Point (h) does not apply to value added tax systems and border-tax adjustment in lieu thereof; the problem of the excessive remission of value added taxes is exclusively covered by point (g). (i) The remission or drawback of import charges See footnote 2 to point (e). (j) The provision by governments (or special institutions controlled by governments) of export credit guarantee or insurance programmes, of insurance or guarantee programmes against increases in the cost of exported products or of exchange risk programmes, at premium rates which are inadequate to cover the long-term operating costs and losses of the programmes. (k) The grant by governments (or special institutions controlled by and/or acting under the authority of governments) of export credits at rates below those which they actually have to pay for the funds so employed (or would have to pay if they borrowed on international capital markets in order to obtain funds of the same maturity and other credit terms and denominated in the same currency as the export credit), or the payment by them of all or part of the costs incurred by exporters or financial institutions in obtaining credits, in so far as they are used to secure a material advantage in the field of export credit terms. Provided, however, that if a Member of the WTO is a party to an international undertaking on official export credits to which at least 12 original such Members are parties as of 1 January 1979 (or a successor undertaking which has been adopted by those original Members), or if in practice a Member of the WTO applies the interest rates provisions of the relevant undertaking, an export credit practice which is in conformity with those provisions shall not be considered an export subsidy.(l) Any other charge on the public account constituting an export subsidy in the sense of Article XVI of the GATT 1994.
1. Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, No 29 (1930) 2. Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, No 87 (1948) 3. Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively, No 98 (1949) 4. Convention concerning Equal Remuneration of Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, No 100 (1951) 5. Convention concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour, No 105 (1957) 6. Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, No 111 (1958) 7. Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, No 138 (1973) 8. Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, No 182 (1999)
1. point (i) of Annex I stipulates that home market inputs may be substituted for imported inputs in the production of a product for export provided such inputs are equal in quantity to, and have the same quality and characteristics as, the imported inputs being substituted. The existence of a verification system or procedure is important because it enables the government of the exporting country to ensure and demonstrate that the quantity of inputs for which drawback is claimed does not exceed the quantity of similar products exported, in whatever form, and that there is no drawback of import charges in excess of those originally levied on the imported inputs in question; 2. where it is alleged that a substitution drawback system conveys a subsidy, the Commission must normally first proceed to determine whether the government of the exporting country has in place and applies a verification system or procedure. Where such a system or procedure is determined to be applied, the Commission shall normally then examine the verification procedures to see whether they are reasonable, effective for the purpose intended, and based on generally accepted commercial practices in the country of export. To the extent that the procedures are determined to meet this test and are effectively applied, no subsidy will be presumed to exist. It may be deemed necessary by the Commission to carry out, in accordance with Article 26(2), certain practical tests in order to verify information or to satisfy itself that the verification procedures are being effectively applied; 3. where there are no verification procedures, where they are not reasonable, or where such procedures are instituted and considered reasonable but are found not to be actually applied or not to be applied effectively, there may be a subsidy. In such cases, further examination by the exporting country based on the actual transactions involved would need to be carried out to determine whether an excess payment occurred. If the Commission deems it necessary, a further examination may be carried out in accordance with point 2; 4. the existence of a substitution drawback provision under which exporters are allowed to select particular import shipments on which drawback is claimed should not of itself be considered to convey a subsidy; 5. an excess drawback of import charges within the meaning of point (i) of Annex I would be deemed to exist where governments paid interest on any monies refunded under their drawback schemes, to the extent of the interest actually paid or payable.
(a) the support in question shall be provided through a publicly-funded government programme (including government revenue foregone) not involving transfers from consumers; and (b) the support in question shall not have the effect of providing price support to producers;
(a) research, including general research, research in connection with environmental programmes, and research programmes relating to particular products; (b) pest and disease control, including general and product-specific pest and disease control measures, such as early-warning systems, quarantine and eradication; (c) training services, including both general and specific training facilities; (d) extension and advisory services, including the provision of means to facilitate the transfer of information and the results of research to producers and consumers; (e) inspection services, including general inspection services and the inspection of particular products for health, safety, grading or standardisation purposes; (f) marketing and promotion services, including market information, advice and promotion relating to particular products but excluding expenditure for unspecified purposes that could be used by sellers to reduce their selling price or confer a direct economic benefit to purchasers; and (g) infrastructural services, including: electricity reticulation, roads and other means of transport, market and port facilities, water supply facilities, dams and drainage schemes, and infrastructural works associated with environmental programmes. In all cases the expenditure shall be directed to the provision or construction of capital works only, and shall exclude the subsidised provision of on-farm facilities other than for the reticulation of generally available public utilities. It shall not include subsidies to inputs or operating costs, or preferential user charges.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by clearly-defined criteria such as income, status as a producer or landowner, factor use or production level in a defined and fixed base period. (b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the base period. (c) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the prices, domestic or international, applying to any production undertaken in any year after the base period. (d) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the factors of production employed in any year after the base period. (e) No production shall be required in order to receive such payments.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by an income loss, taking into account only income derived from agriculture, which exceeds 30 % of average gross income or the equivalent in net income terms (excluding any payments from the same or similar schemes) in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. Any producer meeting this condition shall be eligible to receive the payments. (b) The amount of such payments shall compensate for less than 70 % of the producer's income loss in the year the producer becomes eligible to receive this assistance. (c) The amount of any such payments shall relate solely to income; it shall not relate to the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer; or to the prices, domestic or international, applying to such production; or to the factors of production employed. (d) Where a producer receives in the same year payments pursuant to this point and pursuant to point 8 (relief from natural disasters), the total of such payments shall be less than 100 % of the producer's total loss.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall arise only following a formal recognition by government authorities that a natural or like disaster (including disease outbreaks, pest infestations, nuclear accidents, and war on the territory of the Member concerned) has occurred or is occurring; and shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 % of the average of production in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. (b) Payments made following a disaster shall be applied only in respect of losses of income, livestock (including payments in connection with the veterinary treatment of animals), land or other production factors due to the natural disaster in question. (c) Payments shall compensate for not more than the total cost of replacing such losses and shall not require or specify the type or quantity of future production. (d) Payments made during a disaster shall not exceed the level required to prevent or alleviate further loss as defined in criterion set out in point (b). (e) Where a producer receives in the same year payments pursuant to this point and pursuant to point 7 (income insurance and income safety-net programmes), the total of such payments shall be less than 100 % of the producer's total loss.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by reference to clearly defined criteria in programmes designed to facilitate the retirement of persons engaged in marketable agricultural production, or their movement to non-agricultural activities. (b) Payments shall be conditional upon the total and permanent retirement of the recipients from marketable agricultural production.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by reference to clearly defined criteria in programmes designed to remove land or other resources, including livestock, from marketable agricultural production. (b) Payments shall be conditional upon the retirement of land from marketable agricultural production for a minimum of three years, and in the case of livestock on its slaughter or definitive permanent disposal. (c) Payments shall not require or specify any alternative use for such land or other resources which involves the production of marketable agricultural products. (d) Payments shall not be related to either type or quantity of production or to the prices, domestic or international, applying to production undertaken using the land or other resources remaining in production.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by reference to clearly-defined criteria in government programmes designed to assist the financial or physical restructuring of a producer's operations in response to objectively demonstrated structural disadvantages. Eligibility for such programmes may also be based on a clearly defined government programme for the reprivatisation of agricultural land. (b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the base period other than as provided for under criterion (e). (c) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the prices, domestic or international, applying to any production undertaken in any year after the base period. (d) The payments shall be given only for the period of time necessary for the realisation of the investment in respect of which they are provided. (e) The payments shall not mandate or in any way designate the agricultural products to be produced by the recipients except to require them not to produce a particular product. (f) The payments shall be limited to the amount required to compensate for the structural disadvantage.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined as part of a clearly-defined government environmental or conservation programme and be dependent on the fulfilment of specific conditions under the government programme, including conditions related to production methods or inputs. (b) The amount of payment shall be limited to the extra costs or loss of income involved in complying with the government programme.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be limited to producers in disadvantaged regions. Each such region must be a clearly designated contiguous geographical area with a definable economic and administrative identity, considered as disadvantaged on the basis of neutral and objective criteria clearly spelt out in a law or regulation and indicating that the region's difficulties arise out of more than temporary circumstances. (b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the base period other than to reduce that production. (c) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the prices, domestic or international, applying to any production undertaken in any year after the base period. (d) Payments shall be available only to producers in eligible regions, but generally available to all producers within such regions. (e) Where related to production factors, payments shall be made at a degressive rate above a threshold level of the factor concerned. (f) The payments shall be limited to the extra costs or loss of income involved in undertaking agricultural production in the prescribed area.
| Only point 18 of the Annex |
| Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 | This Regulation |
|---|---|
| Articles 1 to 11 | Articles 1 to 11 |
| Article 12(1) to (4) | Article 12(1) to (4) |
| Article 12(6) | Article 12(5) |
| Articles 13 and 14 | Articles 13 and 14 |
| Article 15(1) | Article 15(1) |
| Article 15(2), first sentence | Article 15(2), first subparagraph |
| Article 15(2), second sentence | Article 15(2), second subparagraph |
| Article 15(3) | Article 15(3) |
| Articles 16 to 27 | Articles 16 to 27 |
| Article 28(1) to (4) | Article 28(1) to (4) |
| Article 28(5), first sentence | Article 28(5), first subparagraph |
| Article 28(5), second sentence | Article 28(5), second subparagraph |
| Article 28(6) | Article 28(6) |
| Articles 29 to 33 | Articles 29 to 33 |
| Article 33a | Article 34 |
| Article 34 | Article 35 |
| Article 35 | Article 36 |
| Annexes I to IV | Annexes I to IV |
| Annex V | — |
| Annex VI | — |
| — | Annex V |
| — | Annex VI |
(a) a product is considered to be subsidised if it benefits from a countervailable subsidy as defined in Articles 3 and 4. Such subsidy may be granted by the government of the country of origin of the imported product, or by the government of an intermediate country from which the product is exported to the Union, known for the purposes of this Regulation as "the country of export"; (b) "government" means a government or any public body within the territory of the country of origin or export; (c) "like product" means a product which is identical, that is to say, alike in all respects, to the product under consideration, or, in the absence of such a product, another product which, although not alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the product under consideration; (d) "injury", unless otherwise specified, means material injury to the Union industry, threat of material injury to the Union industry or material retardation of the establishment of such an industry, and shall be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of Article 8.
1. (a) there is a financial contribution by a government in the country of origin or export, that is to say, where: (i) a government practice involves a direct transfer of funds (for example, grants, loans, equity infusion), potential direct transfers of funds or liabilities (for example, loan guarantees); (ii) government revenue that is otherwise due is forgone or not collected (for example, fiscal incentives such as tax credits). In this regard, the exemption of an exported product from duties or taxes borne by the like product when destined for domestic consumption, or the remission of such duties or taxes in amounts not in excess of those which have been accrued, shall not be deemed to be a subsidy, provided that such an exemption is granted in accordance with the provisions of Annexes I, II and III; (iii) a government provides goods or services other than general infrastructure, or purchases goods; (iv) a government: makes payments to a funding mechanism, or entrusts or directs a private body to carry out one or more of the type of functions illustrated in points (i), (ii) and (iii) which would normally be vested in the government, and the practice, in no real sense, differs from practices normally followed by governments;
or (b) there is any form of income or price support within the meaning of Article XVI of the GATT 1994; and
2. a benefit is thereby conferred.
(a) where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, explicitly limits access to a subsidy to certain enterprises, such a subsidy shall be specific; (b) where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, establishes objective criteria or conditions governing the eligibility for, and the amount of, a subsidy, specificity shall not exist, provided that the eligibility is automatic and that such criteria and conditions are strictly adhered to; (c) if, notwithstanding any appearance of non-specificity resulting from the application of the principles laid down in points (a) and (b), there are reasons to believe that the subsidy may in fact be specific, other factors may be considered. Such factors are: use of a subsidy programme by a limited number of certain enterprises; predominant use by certain enterprises; the granting of disproportionately large amounts of subsidy to certain enterprises; the manner in which discretion has been exercised by the granting authority in the decision to grant a subsidy. In this regard, information on the frequency with which applications for a subsidy are refused or approved and the reasons for such decisions shall, in particular, be considered.
(a) subsidies contingent, in law or in fact, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon export performance, including those illustrated in Annex I; (b) subsidies contingent, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon the use of domestic over imported goods.
(a) government provision of equity capital shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless the investment can be regarded as inconsistent with the usual investment practice, including for the provision of risk capital, of private investors in the territory of the country of origin and/or export; (b) a loan by a government shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless there is a difference between the amount that the firm receiving the loan pays on the government loan and the amount that the firm would pay for a comparable commercial loan which the firm could actually obtain on the market. In that event the benefit shall be the difference between those two amounts; (c) a loan guarantee by a government shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless there is a difference between the amount that the firm receiving the guarantee pays on a loan guaranteed by the government and the amount that the firm would pay for a comparable commercial loan in the absence of the government guarantee. In that case the benefit shall be the difference between those two amounts, adjusted for any differences in fees; (d) the provision of goods or services or purchase of goods by a government shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless the provision is made for less than adequate remuneration or the purchase is made for more than adequate remuneration. The adequacy of remuneration shall be determined in relation to prevailing market conditions for the product or service in question in the country of provision or purchase, including price, quality, availability, marketability, transportation and other conditions of purchase or sale. If there are no such prevailing market terms and conditions for the product or service in question in the country of provision or purchase which can be used as appropriate benchmarks, the following rules shall apply: (i) the terms and conditions prevailing in the country concerned shall be adjusted, on the basis of actual costs, prices and other factors available in that country, by an appropriate amount which reflects normal market terms and conditions; or (ii) when appropriate, the terms and conditions prevailing in the market of another country or on the world market which are available to the recipient shall be used.
(a) any application fee or other costs necessarily incurred in order to qualify for, or to obtain, the subsidy; (b) export taxes, duties or other charges levied on the export of the product to the Union specifically intended to offset the subsidy.
(a) the volume of the subsidised imports and the effect of the subsidised imports on prices in the Union market for like products; and (b) the consequent impact of those imports on the Union industry.
(a) the amount of countervailable subsidies established in relation to the imports from each country is more than de minimis as defined in Article 14(5) and the volume of imports from each country is not negligible; and(b) a cumulative assessment of the effects of the imports is appropriate in the light of the conditions of competition between imported products and the conditions of competition between the imported products and the like Union product.
(a) the nature of the subsidy or subsidies in question and the trade effects likely to arise therefrom; (b) a significant rate of increase of subsidised imports into the Union market indicating the likelihood of substantially increased imports; (c) whether there is sufficient freely disposable capacity on the part of the exporter or an imminent and substantial increase in such capacity indicating the likelihood of substantially increased subsidised exports to the Union, account being taken of the availability of other export markets to absorb any additional exports; (d) whether imports are entering at prices that would, to a significant degree, depress prices or prevent price increases which otherwise would have occurred, and would probably increase demand for further imports; (e) inventories of the product being investigated.
(a) when producers are related to the exporters or importers, or are themselves importers of the allegedly subsidised product, the term "Union industry" may be interpreted as referring to the rest of the producers; (b) in exceptional circumstances, the territory of the Union may, for the production in question, be divided into two or more competitive markets and the producers within each market may be regarded as a separate industry if: (i) the producers within such a market sell all or almost all of their production of the product in question in that market; and (ii) the demand in that market is not to any substantial degree met by producers of the product in question located elsewhere in the Union. In such circumstances, injury may be found to exist even where a major portion of the total Union industry is not injured, provided that there is a concentration of subsidised imports into such an isolated market and provided further that the subsidised imports are causing injury to the producers of all or almost all of the production within such a market.
(a) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (b) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; or (c) together they directly or indirectly control a third person, provided that there are grounds for believing or suspecting that the effect of the relationship is such as to cause the producer concerned to behave differently from non-related producers.
(a) the identity of the complainant and a description of the volume and value of the Union production of the like product by the complainant. Where a written complaint is made on behalf of the Union industry, the complaint shall identify the industry on behalf of which the complaint is made by a list of all known Union producers of the like product (or associations of Union producers of the like product) and, to the extent possible, a description of the volume and value of Union production of the like product accounted for by such producers; (b) a complete description of the allegedly subsidised product, the names of the country or countries of origin or export in question, the identity of each known exporter or foreign producer and a list of known persons importing the product in question; (c) evidence with regard to the existence, amount, nature and countervailability of the subsidies in question; (d) the changes in the volume of the allegedly subsidised imports, the effect of those imports on prices of the like product in the Union market and the consequent impact of the imports on the Union industry, as demonstrated by relevant factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the Union industry, such as those listed in Article 8(2) and (4).
(a) proceedings have been initiated in accordance with Article 10; (b) a notice has been given to that effect and interested parties have been given an adequate opportunity to submit information and make comments in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 10(12); (c) a provisional affirmative determination has been made that the imported product benefits from countervailable subsidies and consequent injury to the Union industry; and (d) the Union interest calls for intervention to prevent such injury.
(a) the country of origin and/or export agrees to eliminate or limit the subsidy or take other measures concerning its effects; or (b) any exporter undertakes to revise its prices or to cease exports to the area in question as long as such exports benefit from countervailable subsidies, if the injurious effect of the subsidies is thereby eliminated.
(a) the imports have been registered in accordance with Article 24(5); (b) the importers concerned have been given an opportunity to comment by the Commission; (c) there are critical circumstances where for the subsidised product in question injury which is difficult to repair is caused by massive imports in a relatively short period of a product benefiting from countervailable subsidies under the terms of this Regulation; and (d) it is deemed necessary, in order to preclude the recurrence of such injury, to assess countervailing duties retroactively on those imports.
(a) expire in investigations pursuant to Article 18; (b) expire in the case of investigations carried out pursuant to Articles 18 and 19 in parallel, where either the investigation pursuant to Article 18 was initiated while a review under Article 19 was ongoing in the same proceedings or where such reviews were initiated at the same time; or (c) remain unchanged in investigations pursuant to Articles 19 and 20.
(a) the slight modification of the product concerned to make it fall under customs codes which are normally not subject to the measures, provided that the modification does not alter its essential characteristics; (b) the consignment of the product subject to measures via third countries; (c) the reorganisation by exporters or producers of their patterns and channels of sales in the country subject to measures in order to eventually have their products exported to the Union through producers benefiting from an individual duty rate lower than that applicable to the products of the manufacturers.
(a) any special rules laid down in agreements concluded between the Union and third countries; (b) the Union Regulations in the agricultural sector and Council Regulations (EC) No 1667/2006 Council Regulation (EC) No 1667/2006 of 7 November 2006 on glucose and lactose (OJ L 312, 11.11.2006, p. 1 ).Council Regulation (EC) No 614/2009 of 7 July 2009 on the common system of trade for ovalbumin and lactalbumin (OJ L 181, 14.7.2009, p. 8 ).Council Regulation (EC) No 1216/2009 of 30 November 2009 laying down the trade arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products (OJ L 328, 15.12.2009, p. 10 ).(c) special measures, provided that such action does not run counter to obligations under the GATT 1994.
(a) The provision by governments of direct subsidies to a firm or an industry contingent upon export performance. (b) Currency retention schemes or any similar practices which involve a bonus on exports. (c) Internal transport and freight charges on export shipments, provided or mandated by governments, on terms more favourable than for domestic shipments. (d) The provision by governments or their agencies either directly or indirectly through government-mandated schemes, of imported or domestic products or services for use in the production of exported goods, on terms or conditions more favourable than for provision of like or directly competitive products or services for use in the production of goods for domestic consumption, if (in the case of products) such terms or conditions are more favourable than those commercially available "Commercially available" means that the choice between domestic and imported products is unrestricted and depends only on commercial considerations. (e) The full or partial exemption, remission, or deferral Deferral may not amount to an export subsidy where, for example, appropriate interest charges are collected. For the purposes of this Regulation: "direct taxes" means taxes on wages, profits, interests, rents, royalties, and all other forms of income, and taxes on the ownership of real property, "import charges" means tariffs, duties, and other fiscal charges not elsewhere enumerated in this footnote that are levied on imports, "indirect taxes" means sales, excise, turnover, value added, franchise, stamp, transfer, inventory and equipment taxes, border taxes and all taxes other than direct taxes and import charges, "prior-stage" indirect taxes are those levied on goods or services used directly or indirectly in making the product, "cumulative" indirect taxes are multi-staged taxes levied where there is no mechanism for subsequent crediting of the tax if the goods or services subject to tax at one stage of production are used in a succeeding state of production, "remission" of taxes includes the refund or rebate of taxes, "remission or drawback" includes the full or partial exemption or deferral of import charges.
(f) The allowance of special deductions directly related to exports or export performance, over and above those granted in respect of production for domestic consumption, in the calculation of the base on which direct taxes are charged. (g) The exemption or remission, in respect of the production and distribution of exported products, of indirect taxes See footnote 2 to point (e). (h) The exemption, remission or deferral of prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes See footnote 2 to point (e). Point (h) does not apply to value added tax systems and border-tax adjustment in lieu thereof; the problem of the excessive remission of value added taxes is exclusively covered by point (g). (i) The remission or drawback of import charges See footnote 2 to point (e). (j) The provision by governments (or special institutions controlled by governments) of export credit guarantee or insurance programmes, of insurance or guarantee programmes against increases in the cost of exported products or of exchange risk programmes, at premium rates which are inadequate to cover the long-term operating costs and losses of the programmes. (k) The grant by governments (or special institutions controlled by and/or acting under the authority of governments) of export credits at rates below those which they actually have to pay for the funds so employed (or would have to pay if they borrowed on international capital markets in order to obtain funds of the same maturity and other credit terms and denominated in the same currency as the export credit), or the payment by them of all or part of the costs incurred by exporters or financial institutions in obtaining credits, in so far as they are used to secure a material advantage in the field of export credit terms. Provided, however, that if a Member of the WTO is a party to an international undertaking on official export credits to which at least 12 original such Members are parties as of 1 January 1979 (or a successor undertaking which has been adopted by those original Members), or if in practice a Member of the WTO applies the interest rates provisions of the relevant undertaking, an export credit practice which is in conformity with those provisions shall not be considered an export subsidy.(l) Any other charge on the public account constituting an export subsidy in the sense of Article XVI of the GATT 1994.
1. Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, No 29 (1930) 2. Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, No 87 (1948) 3. Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively, No 98 (1949) 4. Convention concerning Equal Remuneration of Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, No 100 (1951) 5. Convention concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour, No 105 (1957) 6. Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, No 111 (1958) 7. Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, No 138 (1973) 8. Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, No 182 (1999)
1. point (i) of Annex I stipulates that home market inputs may be substituted for imported inputs in the production of a product for export provided such inputs are equal in quantity to, and have the same quality and characteristics as, the imported inputs being substituted. The existence of a verification system or procedure is important because it enables the government of the exporting country to ensure and demonstrate that the quantity of inputs for which drawback is claimed does not exceed the quantity of similar products exported, in whatever form, and that there is no drawback of import charges in excess of those originally levied on the imported inputs in question; 2. where it is alleged that a substitution drawback system conveys a subsidy, the Commission must normally first proceed to determine whether the government of the exporting country has in place and applies a verification system or procedure. Where such a system or procedure is determined to be applied, the Commission shall normally then examine the verification procedures to see whether they are reasonable, effective for the purpose intended, and based on generally accepted commercial practices in the country of export. To the extent that the procedures are determined to meet this test and are effectively applied, no subsidy will be presumed to exist. It may be deemed necessary by the Commission to carry out, in accordance with Article 26(2), certain practical tests in order to verify information or to satisfy itself that the verification procedures are being effectively applied; 3. where there are no verification procedures, where they are not reasonable, or where such procedures are instituted and considered reasonable but are found not to be actually applied or not to be applied effectively, there may be a subsidy. In such cases, further examination by the exporting country based on the actual transactions involved would need to be carried out to determine whether an excess payment occurred. If the Commission deems it necessary, a further examination may be carried out in accordance with point 2; 4. the existence of a substitution drawback provision under which exporters are allowed to select particular import shipments on which drawback is claimed should not of itself be considered to convey a subsidy; 5. an excess drawback of import charges within the meaning of point (i) of Annex I would be deemed to exist where governments paid interest on any monies refunded under their drawback schemes, to the extent of the interest actually paid or payable.
(a) the support in question shall be provided through a publicly-funded government programme (including government revenue foregone) not involving transfers from consumers; and (b) the support in question shall not have the effect of providing price support to producers;
(a) research, including general research, research in connection with environmental programmes, and research programmes relating to particular products; (b) pest and disease control, including general and product-specific pest and disease control measures, such as early-warning systems, quarantine and eradication; (c) training services, including both general and specific training facilities; (d) extension and advisory services, including the provision of means to facilitate the transfer of information and the results of research to producers and consumers; (e) inspection services, including general inspection services and the inspection of particular products for health, safety, grading or standardisation purposes; (f) marketing and promotion services, including market information, advice and promotion relating to particular products but excluding expenditure for unspecified purposes that could be used by sellers to reduce their selling price or confer a direct economic benefit to purchasers; and (g) infrastructural services, including: electricity reticulation, roads and other means of transport, market and port facilities, water supply facilities, dams and drainage schemes, and infrastructural works associated with environmental programmes. In all cases the expenditure shall be directed to the provision or construction of capital works only, and shall exclude the subsidised provision of on-farm facilities other than for the reticulation of generally available public utilities. It shall not include subsidies to inputs or operating costs, or preferential user charges.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by clearly-defined criteria such as income, status as a producer or landowner, factor use or production level in a defined and fixed base period. (b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the base period. (c) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the prices, domestic or international, applying to any production undertaken in any year after the base period. (d) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the factors of production employed in any year after the base period. (e) No production shall be required in order to receive such payments.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by an income loss, taking into account only income derived from agriculture, which exceeds 30 % of average gross income or the equivalent in net income terms (excluding any payments from the same or similar schemes) in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. Any producer meeting this condition shall be eligible to receive the payments. (b) The amount of such payments shall compensate for less than 70 % of the producer's income loss in the year the producer becomes eligible to receive this assistance. (c) The amount of any such payments shall relate solely to income; it shall not relate to the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer; or to the prices, domestic or international, applying to such production; or to the factors of production employed. (d) Where a producer receives in the same year payments pursuant to this point and pursuant to point 8 (relief from natural disasters), the total of such payments shall be less than 100 % of the producer's total loss.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall arise only following a formal recognition by government authorities that a natural or like disaster (including disease outbreaks, pest infestations, nuclear accidents, and war on the territory of the Member concerned) has occurred or is occurring; and shall be determined by a production loss which exceeds 30 % of the average of production in the preceding three-year period or a three-year average based on the preceding five-year period, excluding the highest and the lowest entry. (b) Payments made following a disaster shall be applied only in respect of losses of income, livestock (including payments in connection with the veterinary treatment of animals), land or other production factors due to the natural disaster in question. (c) Payments shall compensate for not more than the total cost of replacing such losses and shall not require or specify the type or quantity of future production. (d) Payments made during a disaster shall not exceed the level required to prevent or alleviate further loss as defined in criterion set out in point (b). (e) Where a producer receives in the same year payments pursuant to this point and pursuant to point 7 (income insurance and income safety-net programmes), the total of such payments shall be less than 100 % of the producer's total loss.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by reference to clearly defined criteria in programmes designed to facilitate the retirement of persons engaged in marketable agricultural production, or their movement to non-agricultural activities. (b) Payments shall be conditional upon the total and permanent retirement of the recipients from marketable agricultural production.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by reference to clearly defined criteria in programmes designed to remove land or other resources, including livestock, from marketable agricultural production. (b) Payments shall be conditional upon the retirement of land from marketable agricultural production for a minimum of three years, and in the case of livestock on its slaughter or definitive permanent disposal. (c) Payments shall not require or specify any alternative use for such land or other resources which involves the production of marketable agricultural products. (d) Payments shall not be related to either type or quantity of production or to the prices, domestic or international, applying to production undertaken using the land or other resources remaining in production.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined by reference to clearly-defined criteria in government programmes designed to assist the financial or physical restructuring of a producer's operations in response to objectively demonstrated structural disadvantages. Eligibility for such programmes may also be based on a clearly defined government programme for the reprivatisation of agricultural land. (b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the base period other than as provided for under criterion (e). (c) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the prices, domestic or international, applying to any production undertaken in any year after the base period. (d) The payments shall be given only for the period of time necessary for the realisation of the investment in respect of which they are provided. (e) The payments shall not mandate or in any way designate the agricultural products to be produced by the recipients except to require them not to produce a particular product. (f) The payments shall be limited to the amount required to compensate for the structural disadvantage.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be determined as part of a clearly-defined government environmental or conservation programme and be dependent on the fulfilment of specific conditions under the government programme, including conditions related to production methods or inputs. (b) The amount of payment shall be limited to the extra costs or loss of income involved in complying with the government programme.
(a) Eligibility for such payments shall be limited to producers in disadvantaged regions. Each such region must be a clearly designated contiguous geographical area with a definable economic and administrative identity, considered as disadvantaged on the basis of neutral and objective criteria clearly spelt out in a law or regulation and indicating that the region's difficulties arise out of more than temporary circumstances. (b) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the type or volume of production (including livestock units) undertaken by the producer in any year after the base period other than to reduce that production. (c) The amount of such payments in any given year shall not be related to, or based on, the prices, domestic or international, applying to any production undertaken in any year after the base period. (d) Payments shall be available only to producers in eligible regions, but generally available to all producers within such regions. (e) Where related to production factors, payments shall be made at a degressive rate above a threshold level of the factor concerned. (f) The payments shall be limited to the extra costs or loss of income involved in undertaking agricultural production in the prescribed area.
| Only point 18 of the Annex |
| Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 | This Regulation |
|---|---|
| Articles 1 to 11 | Articles 1 to 11 |
| Article 12(1) to (4) | Article 12(1) to (4) |
| Article 12(6) | Article 12(5) |
| Articles 13 and 14 | Articles 13 and 14 |
| Article 15(1) | Article 15(1) |
| Article 15(2), first sentence | Article 15(2), first subparagraph |
| Article 15(2), second sentence | Article 15(2), second subparagraph |
| Article 15(3) | Article 15(3) |
| Articles 16 to 27 | Articles 16 to 27 |
| Article 28(1) to (4) | Article 28(1) to (4) |
| Article 28(5), first sentence | Article 28(5), first subparagraph |
| Article 28(5), second sentence | Article 28(5), second subparagraph |
| Article 28(6) | Article 28(6) |
| Articles 29 to 33 | Articles 29 to 33 |
| Article 33a | Article 34 |
| Article 34 | Article 35 |
| Article 35 | Article 36 |
| Annexes I to IV | Annexes I to IV |
| Annex V | — |
| Annex VI | — |
| — | Annex V |
| — | Annex VI |