Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the countervailing measures applicable to imports of solar glass originating in the People's Republic of China

(2019/C 165/07)

Following the publication of a Notice of impending expiry (1) of the countervailing measures in force on the imports of solar glass originating in the People's Republic of China (‘the country concerned’), the European Commission (‘the Commission’) has received a request for review pursuant to Article 18 of 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 (2) (‘the basic Regulation’).

1.   Request for review

The request was lodged on 13 February 2019 by EU Pro Sun Glass (‘the applicant’) on behalf of producers representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of solar glass.

An open version of the request and the analysis of the degree of support by Union producers for the request are available in the file for inspection by interested parties. Section 5.5 of this Notice provides information about access to the file for interested parties.

2.   Product under review

The product subject to this review is solar glass consisting of tempered soda-lime-flat-glass, with an iron content of less than 300 ppm, a solar transmittance of more than 88 % (measured according to AM1,5 300-2 500 nm), a resistance to heat up to 250 °C (measured according to EN 12150), a resistance to thermal shocks of Δ 150K (measured according to EN 12150) and having a mechanical strength of 90 N/mm2 or more (measured according to EN 1288-3) (‘the product under review’), currently falling under CN code ex 7007 19 80 (TARIC codes 7007198012, 7007198018, 7007198080 and 7007198085).

3.   Existing measures

The measures currently in force are definitive countervailing duties imposed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 471/2014 (3).

4.   Grounds for the review

The request is based on the grounds that the expiry of the measures would be likely to result in continuation or recurrence of subsidisation and continuation or recurrence of injury to the Union industry.

4.1.    Allegation of likelihood of continuation or recurrence of subsidisation

The applicant has provided sufficient evidence that the producers of the product under review in the country concerned have benefitted and are likely to continue to benefit from a number of subsidies granted by the Government of the country concerned and from regional and local governments in that country.

The subsidy practices consist, inter alia, of (1) direct transfer of funds and potential direct transfers of funds or liabilities, for example preferential loans, grant programmes, export credits, export guarantees and insurance; (2) government revenue forgone or not collected, for example tax incentive, tax credit, duties exemption, tax offset, VAT refund, preferential tax policies, tax exemption, VAT and customs duty reduction, tax deferral of payment and benefits from offshore investment; (3) government provision of goods or services other than general infrastructure, for example government provision of power and land; and (4) payments to a funding mechanism or entrustment or direction of a private body to carry out one or more of the functions described in (1), (2) and (3), for example provision of preferential loans by private banks which, according to the request, are required to follow government policies and act in the same way as State-owned banks. Some of the alleged subsidy practices were already countervailed in the original investigation (see Section 3 above) while some others are additional or new subsidies which were not examined in the original investigation.

The applicant alleges that the measures described are subsidies since they involve a financial contribution from the Government of the country concerned or regional and local governments in that country and confer a benefit to producers of the product under review. Those subsidies are alleged to be specific to an enterprise or industry or group of enterprises or industries or contingent upon export performance and therefore countervailable.

In view of Article 18(2) of the basic Regulation, the Commission prepared a memorandum on sufficiency of evidence containing the Commission's assessment on all the evidence at its disposal and on the basis of which the Commission initiates this investigation. That memorandum can be found in the file for inspection by interested parties.

The Commission reserves the right to investigate other relevant subsidy practices which may be revealed during the course of the investigation.

4.2.    Allegation of likelihood of continuation or recurrence of injury

The applicant has provided sufficient evidence showing likelihood of continuation or recurrence of injury.

The applicant has provided evidence that imports of the product under review from the country concerned to the Union have remained significant in absolute terms and in terms of market shares.

The applicant has also provided evidence that, should measures be allowed to lapse, the current import level of the product under review from the country concerned to the Union is likely to increase due to the existence of unused capacity of the exporting producers in the country concerned and the attractiveness of the Union market compared to other markets. The applicant also alleges that the improvement in the economic situation of the Union industry has been mainly due to the existence of measures. In addition, the applicant has provided evidence that any substantial increase of imports at subsidised prices from the country concerned would be likely to cause further injury to the Union industry should measures be allowed to lapse.

5.   Procedure

Having determined, after consulting the Committee established by Article 25(1) of the basic Regulation, that sufficient evidence exists to justify the initiation of an expiry review, the Commission hereby initiates a review in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation.

The expiry review will determine whether the expiry of the measures would be likely to lead to a continuation or recurrence of subsidisation of the product under review originating in the country concerned and a continuation or recurrence of injury to the Union industry.

The Government of the country concerned has been invited for consultations in accordance with Article 10(7) of the basic Regulation.

As already announced (4), the so-called TDI Modernisation package (Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5), which entered into force on 8 June 2018), introduced, among other things, significant changes to the timetable and deadlines previously applicable in anti-subsidy proceedings. The time-limits for interested parties to come forward, in particular at the early stage of investigations, are shortened. The timetable for this investigation, as set out in this Notice, includes specific instructions for the submission of information at various stages of the investigation and the organisation of hearings. Extensions to deadlines will also be made stricter and request for such extensions will be considered only if duly motivated. Therefore, the Commission invites interested parties to respect the procedural steps and deadlines provided in this Notice as well as in further communications from the Commission.

5.1.    Review investigation period and period considered

The investigation of a continuation or recurrence of subsidisation will cover the period from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018 (‘the review investigation period’). The examination of trends relevant for the assessment of the likelihood of a continuation or recurrence of injury will cover the period from 1 January 2015 to the end of the review investigation period (‘the period considered’).

5.2.    Procedure for the determination of a likelihood of continuation or recurrence of subsidisation

In an expiry review, the Commission examines exports that were made to the Union in the review investigation period and, irrespective of exports to the Union, considers whether the situation of the companies producing and selling the product under review in the country concerned is such that exports at subsidised prices to the Union would be likely to continue or recur if measures expire.

Therefore, all producers (6) of the product under review from the country concerned, irrespective of whether or not they exported (7) the product under review to the Union in the review investigation period, are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

5.2.1.   Investigating producers in the country concerned

In view of the potentially large number of producers in the country concerned involved in this expiry review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit the producers to be investigated to a reasonable number by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). Sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 27 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary, and if so, to select a sample, all producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, including the ones who did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures subject to this review, are hereby requested to provide the Commission with information on their company(ies) requested in Annex I to this Notice within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of producers in the country concerned, the Commission will also contact the authorities of the country concerned and may contact any known associations of producers in the country concerned.

If a sample is necessary, the producers will be selected based on the largest representative volume of production, sales or exports which can reasonably be investigated within the time frame available. All known producers in the country concerned, the authorities of the country concerned and associations of producers in the country concerned will be notified by the Commission, via the authorities of the country concerned if appropriate, of the companies selected to be in the sample.

Once the Commission has received the necessary information to select a sample of producers, it will inform the parties concerned of its decision whether they are included in the sample. The sampled producers will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision of their inclusion in the sample, unless otherwise specified.

The Commission will add a note to the file for inspection by interested parties reflecting the sample selection. Any comment on the sample selection must be received within 3 days of the date of notification of the sample decision.

A copy of the questionnaire for producers in the country concerned is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade's website (8).

The questionnaire will also be made available to any known association of producers, and to the authorities of the country concerned.

Without prejudice to the possible application of Article 28 of the basic Regulation, companies that have agreed to their possible inclusion in the sample but are not selected to be in the sample will be considered to be cooperating (‘non-sampled cooperating producers’).

5.3.    Procedure for the determination of a likelihood of a continuation or recurrence of injury

In order to establish whether there is a likelihood of a continuation or recurrence of injury to the Union industry, Union producers of the product under review are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

5.3.1.   Investigating Union producers

In view of the large number of Union producers involved in this expiry review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission has decided to limit to a reasonable number the Union producers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling is carried out in accordance with Article 27 of the basic Regulation.

The Commission has provisionally selected a sample of Union producers. Details can be found in the file for inspection by interested parties. Interested parties are hereby invited to comment on the provisional sample. In addition, other Union producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, that consider that there are reasons why they should be included in the sample must contact the Commission within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice. All comments regarding the provisional sample must be received within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.

All known Union producers and/or associations of Union producers will be notified by the Commission of the companies finally selected to be in the sample.

The sampled Union producers will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision of their inclusion in the sample, unless otherwise specified.

A copy of the questionnaire for Union producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade's website (9).

5.4.    Procedure for the assessment of Union interest

Should the likelihood of continuation or recurrence of subsidisation and continuation or recurrence of injury be confirmed, a decision will be reached, pursuant to Article 31 of the basic Regulation, as to whether maintaining the countervailing measures would not be against the Union interest.

Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, trade unions and representative consumer organisations are invited to provide the Commission with information on the Union interest. In order to participate in the investigation, the representative consumer organisations have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.

Information concerning the assessment of Union interest must be provided within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice unless otherwise specified. This information may be provided either in a free format or by completing a questionnaire prepared by the Commission. A copy of the questionnaires, including the questionnaire for users of the product under review, is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade's website (10). In any case, information submitted pursuant to Article 31 will only be taken into account if supported by factual evidence at the time of submission.

5.4.1.   Investigating unrelated importers (11) (12)

Unrelated importers of the product under review from the country concerned to the Union, including those that did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures in force, are invited to participate in this investigation.

In view of the potentially large number of unrelated importers involved in this expiry review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit to a reasonable number the unrelated importers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). Sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 27 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all unrelated importers, or representatives acting on their behalf, including the ones who did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures subject to the present review, are hereby requested to make themselves known to the Commission. These parties must do so within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex II.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of unrelated importers, the Commission may also contact any known associations of importers.

If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under review from the country concerned in the Union which can reasonably be investigated within the time available. All known unrelated importers and associations of importers will be notified by the Commission of the companies selected to be in the sample.

The Commission will also add a note to the file for inspection by interested parties reflecting the sample selection. Any comment on the sample selection must be received within 3 days of the date of notification of the sample decision.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled unrelated importers. Those parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

A copy of the questionnaire for unrelated importers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade's website (13).

5.5.    Interested parties

In order to participate in the investigation interested parties, such as producers in the country concerned, Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, trade unions and representative consumer organisations first have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.

Producers in the country concerned, Union producers, importers and representative associations who made information available in accordance to the procedures described in sections 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 will be considered as interested parties if there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.

Other parties will only be able to participate in the investigation as interested party from the moment they make themselves known, and provided that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review. Being considered as an interested party is without prejudice to the application of Article 28 of the basic Regulation.

Access to the file available for inspection for interested parties is made via TRON.tdi at the following address: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI. Please follow the instructions on that page to get access.

5.6.    Other written submissions

Subject to the provisions of this Notice, all interested parties are hereby invited to make their views known, submit information and provide supporting evidence. Unless otherwise specified, this information and supporting evidence must reach the Commission within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

In particular, comments by interested parties regarding the product definition and product scope are to be made within 10 days from the date of publication of the Notice of Initiation.

5.7.    Possibility to be heard by the Commission investigation services

All interested parties may request to be heard by the Commission investigation services. Any request to be heard must be made in writing and must specify the reasons for the request as well as a summary of what the interested party wishes to discuss during the hearing. The hearing will be limited to the issues set out by the interested parties in writing beforehand.

In principle, hearings will not be used to present factual information which is not yet on file. Nevertheless, in the interest of good administration and to enable Commission services to progress with the investigation, interested parties may be directed to provide new factual information after a hearing.

5.8.    Instructions for making written submissions and sending completed questionnaires and correspondence

Information submitted to the Commission for the purpose of trade defence investigations shall be free from copyrights. Interested parties, before submitting to the Commission information and/or data which is subject to third party copyrights, must request specific permission to the copyright holder explicitly allowing a) the Commission to use the information and data for the purpose of this trade defence proceeding and b) to provide the information and/or data to interested parties to this investigation in a form that allows them to exercise their rights of defence.

All written submissions, including the information requested in this Notice, completed questionnaires and correspondence provided by interested parties for which confidential treatment is requested shall be labelled ‘Limited’ (14). Parties submitting information in the course of this investigation are invited to reason their request for confidential treatment.

Interested parties providing ‘Limited’ information are required to furnish non-confidential summaries of it pursuant to Article 29(2) of the basic Regulation, which will be labelled ‘For inspection by interested parties’. Those summaries must be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence. If a party providing confidential information fails to show good cause for a confidential treatment request or does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, the Commission may disregard such information unless it can be satisfactorily demonstrated from appropriate sources that the information is correct.

Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests via TRON.tdi (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI) 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 TRON.tdi or email, 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: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/june/tradoc_148003.pdf. The interested parties must indicate their name, address, telephone and a valid email address and they should ensure that the provided email address is a functioning official business email which is checked on a daily basis. Once contact details are provided, the Commission will communicate with interested parties by TRON.tdi or email 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 via TRON.tdi and by email, interested parties should consult the communication instructions with interested parties referred to above.

Commission address for correspondence:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Trade

Directorate H

Office: CHAR 04/039

1040 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

TRON.tdi : https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/tron/tdi Email addresses : TRADE-SOLARGLASS-INJURY@ec.europa.eu and TRADE-SOLARGLASS-DUMPING-SUBSIDY@ec.europa.eu

6.   Schedule of the investigation

The investigation will be concluded, pursuant to Article 22(1) of the basic Regulation within 15 months of the date of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

7.   Submission of information

As a rule, interested parties may only submit information in the timeframes specified in section 5 of this Notice.

In order to complete the investigation within the mandatory deadlines, the Commission will not accept submissions from interested parties after the deadline to provide comments on the final disclosure or, if applicable, after the deadline to provide comments on the additional final disclosure.

8.   Possibility to comment on other parties' submissions

In order to guarantee the rights of defence, interested parties should have the possibility to comment on information submitted by other interested parties. When doing so, interested parties may only address issues raised in the other interested parties' submissions and may not raise new issues.

Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the definitive findings should be submitted within 5 days from the deadline to comment on the definitive findings, unless otherwise specified. If there is an additional final disclosure, comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to this further disclosure should be made within 1 day from the deadline to comment on this further disclosure, unless otherwise specified.

The outlined timeframe is without prejudice to the Commission's right to request additional information from interested parties in duly justified cases.

9.   Extension to time limits specified in this Notice

Any extension to the time limits provided for in this Notice can only be requested in exceptional circumstances and will only be granted if duly justified.

Extensions to the deadline to reply to questionnaires may be granted, if duly justified, and will be normally limited to 3 additional days. As a rule, such extensions will not exceed 7 days. Regarding time limits for the submission of other information specified in this Notice, extensions will be limited to 3 days unless exceptional circumstances are demonstrated.

10.   Non-cooperation

In cases where any interested party refuses access to or does not provide the necessary information within the time limits, or significantly impedes the investigation, findings, affirmative or negative, may be made on the basis of facts available, in accordance with Article 28 of the basic Regulation.

Where it is found that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, the information may be disregarded and use may be made of facts available.

If an interested party does not cooperate or cooperates only partially and findings are therefore based on facts available in accordance with Article 28 of the basic Regulation, the result may be less favourable to that party than if it had cooperated.

Failure to give a computerised response shall not be deemed to constitute non-cooperation, provided that the interested party shows that presenting the response as requested would result in an unreasonable extra burden or unreasonable additional cost. The interested party should immediately contact the Commission.

11.   Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer for trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and any other request concerning the rights of defence of interested parties and third parties as may arise during the proceeding.

The Hearing Officer may organise hearings and mediate between the interested party/-ies and Commissions services 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. The Hearing Officer will examine the reasons for the requests. These hearings should only take place if the issues have not been settled with the Commission services in due course.

Any request must be submitted in good time and expeditiously so as not to jeopardise the orderly conduct of proceedings. To that effect, interested parties should request the intervention of the Hearing Officer at the earliest possible time following the occurrence of the event justifying such intervention. Where hearing requests are submitted outside the relevant timeframes, the Hearing Officer will also examine the reasons for such late requests, the nature of the issues raised and the impact of those issues on the rights of defence, having due regard to the interests of good administration and the timely completion of the investigation.

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/trade/trade-policy-and-you/contacts/hearing-officer/.

12.   Possibility to request a review under Article 19 of the basic Regulation

As this expiry review is initiated in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 of the basic Regulation, the findings thereof will not lead to the existing measures being amended but will lead to those measures being repealed or maintained in accordance with Article 22(3) of the basic Regulation.

If any interested party considers that a review of the measures is warranted so as to allow for the possibility to amend the measures, that party may request a review pursuant to Article 19 of the basic Regulation.

Parties wishing to request such a review, which would be carried out independently of the expiry review mentioned in this Notice, may contact the Commission at the address given above.

13.   Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this investigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15).

A data protection notice that informs all individuals of the processing of personal data in the framework of Commission's trade defence activities is available on DG Trade's website: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/157639.htm

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(1)  OJ C 345, 27.9.2018, p. 10.

(2)  OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 55.

(3)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 471/2014 of 13 May 2014 imposing definitive countervailing duties on imports of solar glass originating in the People's Republic of China (OJ L 142, 14.5.2014, p. 23).

(4)  See memo ‘Short overview of the deadlines and timelines in the investigative process’, available at: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/june/tradoc_156922.pdf.

(5)  Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending 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 (OJ L 143, 7.6.2018, p. 1).

(6)  A producer is any company in the country concerned which produces the product under review, including any of its related companies involved in the production, domestic sales or exports of the product under review.

(7)  An exporting producer is any company in the country concerned which produces and exports the product under review to the Union market, either directly or via third party, including any of its related companies involved in the production, domestic sales or exports of the product under review.

(8)  http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2394

(9)  http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2394

(10)  http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2394

(11)  Only importers not related to exporting producers can be sampled. Importers that are related to exporting producers have to fill in Annex I to the questionnaire for these exporting producers. In accordance with Article 127 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, two persons shall be deemed to be related if: (a) they are officers or directors of the other person's business; (b) they are legally recognised partners in business; (c) they are employer and employee; (d) a third party directly or indirectly owns, controls or holds 5 % or more of the outstanding voting stock or shares of both of them; (e) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (f) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; (g) together they control a third person directly or indirectly; or (h) they are members of the same family (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558). Persons shall be deemed to be members of the same family only if they stand in any of the following relationships to one another: (i) husband and wife, (ii) parent and child, (iii) brother and sister (whether by whole or half blood), (iv) grandparent and grandchild, (v) uncle or aunt and nephew or niece, (vi) parent-in-law and son-in-law or daughter-in-law, (vii) brother-in-law and sister-in-law. In accordance with Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, ‘person’ means a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Union or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).

(12)  The data provided by unrelated importers may also be used in relation to aspects of this investigation other than the determination of Union interest.

(13)  http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2394

(14)  A ‘Limited’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 29 of Regulation (EU) No 1037/2016 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 (OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 55) and Article 12.4 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailable Measures (SCM Agreement). It is also a document protected pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).

(15)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).