Case C‑123/21 P

Changmao Biochemical Engineering Co. Ltd

v

European Commission

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 28 September 2023

(Appeal – Dumping – Imports of tartaric acid originating in China – Determination of normal value – Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 – Article 2(7) – Protocol on the Accession of the People’s Republic of China to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – Article 15 – Determination of the state of vulnerability of the European Union industry – Determination of the existence of a threat of injury)

1. International agreements – Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation – GATT 1994 – Not possible to invoke WTO agreements to challenge the legality of an EU measure – Exceptions – EU measure intended to ensure its implementation or referring thereto expressly and precisely – Application in anti-dumping matters

   (Art. 216(2) TFEU; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994; Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1994 Anti-Dumping Agreement); European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, recital 3 and Art. 2(7))

   (see paragraphs 69-76, 78-81, 83)

2. International agreements – Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation – Ruling of the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO finding non-compliance with the substantive rules of that agreement – Not possible to rely on those agreements or that ruling to contest the legality of an EU measure

   (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, Art. IV; Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1994 Anti-Dumping Agreement); European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 2(7))

   (see paragraph 82)

3. Appeal – Grounds – Error of law relied on not identified – Inadmissibility

   (Art. 256(1), second subpara., TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 169(2))

   (see paragraphs 87-89, 152, 153, 178, 190, 191)

4. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Injury – Concept of Union industry – Discretion of the Commission – Definition of Union industry limited to Union producers supporting a complaint – Producers representing a major proportion of the total production of the like product produced by the Union industry – Admissibility – Obligation to define the Union industry by reference to all Union producers or by including producers which did not cooperate with the investigation – None

   (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 3(2), 4(1), and 5(4))

   (see paragraphs 106-115)

5. Appeal – Grounds – Plea raised for the first time in the context of the appeal – Inadmissibility

   (Art. 256(1), second subpara., TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 170(1))

   (see paragraphs 119, 120)

6. Appeal – Grounds – Incorrect assessment of the facts and evidence – Inadmissibility – Review by the Court of the assessment of the facts and evidence – Possible only where the clear sense of the evidence has been distorted – Plea alleging distortion of the facts – Need to indicate precisely the evidence alleged to have been distorted and show the errors of appraisal which led to that distortion – Requirement that the distortion be obvious from the documents in the file

   (Art. 256(1), second subpara., TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)

   (see paragraphs 121-124, 175, 177)

7. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Injury – Discretion of the institutions – Judicial review – Limits

   (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 3)

   (see paragraphs 136-139)

8. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Injury – Factors to be taken into consideration – Assessment as a whole

   (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 3(2)(3) and (5))

   (see paragraphs 140-142)

9. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Injury – Establishing a causal link – Obligations of the institutions – Account taken of factors unconnected with dumping causing injury to the Union industry

   (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 3(7))

   (see paragraphs 143, 144, 151)

10. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Investigation – Observance of the rights of the defence – Duty of the institutions to keep the undertakings concerned informed, to respect the confidentiality of information, and to reconcile those obligations – Breach of the obligation to provide information – Consequences – Annulment of the act in question – Conditions – Possibility for the procedure to lead to a different outcome in the absence of that infringement

    (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 19 and 20)

    (see paragraphs 166-170)

11. Appeal – Grounds – Inadequate statement of reasons – Reliance by the General Court on implicit reasoning – Whether permissible – Conditions

    (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 19 and 20)

    (see paragraphs 185-187)

See the text of the decision.