13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/1

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Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.7861 — Dell/EMC)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2016/C 172/01)

On 29 February 2016, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare it compatible with the internal market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1). The full text of the decision is available only in English language and will be made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

—	in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

—	in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32016M7861. EUR-Lex is the online access to the European law.

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(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

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13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/2

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Euro exchange rates (1)

12 May 2016

(2016/C 172/02)

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,1389
JPY	Japanese yen	124,50
DKK	Danish krone	7,4407
GBP	Pound sterling	0,78888
SEK	Swedish krona	9,2945
CHF	Swiss franc	1,1063
ISK	Iceland króna
NOK	Norwegian krone	9,2320
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	27,023
HUF	Hungarian forint	314,91
PLN	Polish zloty	4,4193
RON	Romanian leu	4,4998
TRY	Turkish lira	3,3569
AUD	Australian dollar	1,5541
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,4594
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	8,8378
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,6724
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,5620
KRW	South Korean won	1 331,57
ZAR	South African rand	17,0732
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	7,4242
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,5030
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	15 131,14
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,5704
PHP	Philippine peso	53,015
RUB	Russian rouble	73,7430
THB	Thai baht	40,266
BRL	Brazilian real	3,9419
MXN	Mexican peso	20,3883
INR	Indian rupee	75,9290

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(1)  Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

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13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/3

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Commission communication in the framework of the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC

(Publication of references of European Assessment Documents in accordance with Article 22 of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2016/C 172/03)

The provisions of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 (1) prevail over any conflicting provisions in the European Assessment Documents.

Reference and title of the European Assessment Document		Reference and title of the superseded European Assessment Document	Remarks
020001-00-0405	Multi-axis concealed hinge assemblies
020002-00-0404	Balcony (and terrace) glazing system without vertical frames
040005-00-1201	Factory-made thermal and/or acoustic insulation products made of vegetable or animal fibres
040016-00-0404	Glass fibre mesh for reinforcement of cement based renderings
040048-00-0502	Rubber fibre mat to be used for impact sound insulation
040138-00-1201	In-situ formed loose fill thermal and/or acoustic insulation products made of vegetable fibres
070001-00-0504	Gypsum plasterboards for load bearing applications
090001-00-0404	Pre-fabricated compressed mineral wool boards with organic or inorganic finish and with specified fastening system
120001-00-0106	Microprismatic retro-reflective sheetings
120003-00-0106	Steel lighting columns
130002-00-0304	Solid wood slab element — element of dowel jointed timber boards to be used as a structural element in buildings
130005-00-0304	Solid wood slab element to be used as a structural element in buildings
130010-00-0304	Glued laminated timber made of hardwood – structural laminated veneer lumber made of beech
130012-00-0304	Strength graded structural timber – Square edged logs with wane – Chestnut
130022-00-0304	Monolithic or laminated beam and wall logs made of timber
130033-00-0603	Nails and screws for use in nailing plates in timber structures
190002-00-0502	Dry floating flooring kit based on prefabricated interlocked units made of ceramic tiles and rubber mats
200005-00-0103	Structural steel piles with hollow sections and rigid splices
200017-00-0302	Hot rolled products and structural components made of steel grades Q235B, Q235D, Q345B AND Q345D
200019-00-0102	Hexagonal woven mesh gabion boxes and mattresses
200022-00-0302	Thermo-mechanically rolled long steel products made of weldable fine grain structural steel of special steel grades
220007-00-0402	Fully supported copper alloy sheet and strip for roofing, external cladding and internal lining
220021-00-0402	Sun tunnel kits
220025-00-0401	Cantilevered Structural horizontal glazing (structural glass canopy/roof)
230004-00-0106	Wire ring mesh panels
230005-00-0106	Wire rope net panels
230008-00-0106	Double twisted steel wire mesh reinforced or not with ropes
260006-00-0301	Polymeric concrete addition
280001-00-0704	Preassembled line unit for drainage or infiltration
290001-00-0701	Kit for the transport of cold and hot water inside buildings
330011-00-0601	Adjustable concrete screws
330012-00-0601	Cast-in anchor with internal threaded socket
330075-00-0601	Elevator lifting device
330083-00-0601	Power-actuated fastener for multiple use in concrete for non-structural applications
330153-00-0602	Cartridge fired pin for connections of thin gauge steel members and sheeting
340006-00-0506	Prefabricated stair kits	ETAG 008
340025-00-0403	Substructure kit for heated buildings
340037-00-0204	Light weight steel/wood load bearing roof elements
350003-00-1109	Kit for fire resistant service ducts consisting of pre-fabricated connection pieces (made of mechanically pre-coated steel sheet) and accessories
350005-00-1104	Intumescent products for fire sealing and fire stopping purposes

Note:

European Assessment Documents (EAD) are adopted by the European Organisation for Technical Assessment (EOTA) in English. The European Commission is not responsible for the correctness of the titles which have been provided by EOTA for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Publication of the references of European Assessment Documents in the Official Journal of the European Union does not imply that the European Assessment Documents are available in all the official languages of the European Union.

The European Organisation for Technical Assessment (http://www.eota.eu) shall keep the European Assessment Document available by electronic means in line with the provisions of point 8 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011.

This list replaces all the previous lists published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The European Commission ensures the updating of this list.

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(1)  OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5.

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13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/6

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ADMINISTRATIVE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON SOCIAL SECURITY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS

Rates for conversion of currencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72

(2016/C 172/04)

Article 107(1), (2) and (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72

Reference period: April 2016

Application period: July, August and September 2016

04-2016	EUR	BGN	CZK	DKK	HRK	HUF	PLN
1 EUR =	1	1,95580	27,0313	7,44275	7,49467	311,462	4,31057
1 BGN =	0,511300	1	13,8211	3,80547	3,83202	159,250	2,20399
1 CZK =	0,0369941	0,0723531	1	0,275338	0,277259	11,5223	0,159466
1 DKK =	0,134359	0,262779	3,63190	1	1,00698	41,8477	0,579163
1 HRK =	0,133428	0,260959	3,60674	0,993072	1	41,5578	0,575151
1 HUF =	0,00321067	0,00627942	0,0867886	0,023896	0,0240629	1	0,0138398
1 PLN =	0,231988	0,453722	6,27095	1,72663	1,73867	72,2554	1
1 RON =	0,223593	0,437303	6,04401	1,66415	1,67576	69,6407	0,963812
1 SEK =	0,108664	0,212525	2,93733	0,808759	0,814401	33,8447	0,468404
1 GBP =	1,26216	2,46852	34,1177	9,39390	9,4594	393,113	5,44060
1 NOK =	0,107269	0,209796	2,89962	0,798375	0,803945	33,4102	0,462390
1 ISK =	0,00712418	0,0139335	0,192576	0,0530235	0,0533934	2,21891	0,030709
1 CHF =	0,914941	1,78944	24,7321	6,80967	6,85718	284,969	3,94391

04-2016	RON	SEK	GBP	NOK	ISK	CHF
1 EUR =	4,47241	9,20268	0,792296	9,32237	140,367	1,09297
1 BGN =	2,28674	4,70533	0,405101	4,76653	71,7696	0,558834
1 CZK =	0,165453	0,340445	0,029310	0,344873	5,19275	0,0404333
1 DKK =	0,600909	1,23646	0,106452	1,25254	18,8596	0,146850
1 HRK =	0,596746	1,22790	0,1057145	1,24387	18,7289	0,145832
1 HUF =	0,0143594	0,0295467	0,00254380	0,0299310	0,450671	0,00350915
1 PLN =	1,037547	2,13491	0,183803	2,16268	32,5635	0,253555
1 RON =	1	2,05765	0,177152	2,08442	31,3851	0,244380
1 SEK =	0,485991	1	0,0860941	1,01301	15,2528	0,118766
1 GBP =	5,64488	11,6152	1	11,7663	177,165	1,37949
1 NOK =	0,479751	0,987160	0,0849886	1	15,0570	0,117241
1 ISK =	0,031862	0,065562	0,00564446	0,0664143	1	0,00778649
1 CHF =	4,09200	8,41991	0,724904	8,52942	128,428	1

Note: all cross rates involving ISK are calculated using ISK/EUR rate data from the Central Bank of Iceland

reference: Apr.16	1 EUR in national currency	1 unit of N.C. in EUR
BGN	1,95580	0,511300
CZK	27,03133	0,0369941
DKK	7,44275	0,134359
HRK	7,49467	0,133428
HUF	311,462	0,00321067
PLN	4,31057	0,231988
RON	4,47241	0,223593
SEK	9,20268	0,108664
GBP	0,792296	1,26216
NOK	9,32237	0,107269
ISK	140,367	0,00712418
CHF	1,09297	0,914941

Note: ISK/EUR rates based on data from the Central Bank of Iceland

1.

Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 determines that the rate for the conversion into a currency of amounts denominated in another currency shall be the rate calculated by the Commission and based on the monthly average, during the reference period specified in paragraph 2, of reference rates of exchange of currencies published by the European Central Bank.

2.

The reference period shall be: — the month of January for rates of conversion applicable from 1 April following, — the month of April for rates of conversion applicable from 1 July following, — the month of July for rates of conversion applicable from 1 October following, — the month of October for rates of conversion applicable from 1 January following. The rates for the conversion of currencies shall be published in the second Official Journal of the European Union (C series) of the months of February, May, August and November.

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13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/8

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Notice of the expiry of certain anti-dumping measures

(2016/C 172/05)

Further to the publication of a notice of impending expiry (1) following which no duly substantiated request for a review was lodged, the Commission gives notice that the anti-dumping measure mentioned below will shortly expire.

This notice is published in accordance with Article 11(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 of 30 November 2009 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (2).

Product	Country(ies) of origin or exportation	Measures	Reference	Date of expiry (3)
Zeolite A powder	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Anti-dumping duty Undertaking	Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 464/2011 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of zeolite A powder originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina (OJ L 125, 14.5.2011, p. 1) Commission Decision 2011/279/EU (OJ L 125, 14.5.2011, p. 26)	15.5.2016

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(1)  OJ C 280, 25.8.2015, p. 5.

(2)  OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 51.

(3)  The measure expires at midnight of the day mentioned in this column.

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13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/9

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Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of certain coated fine paper originating in the People's Republic of China

(2016/C 172/06)

Following the publication of a Notice of impending expiry (1) of the anti-dumping measures in force on the imports of certain coated fine paper originating in the People's Republic of China, the European Commission (‘the Commission’) has received a request for review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 of 30 November 2009 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (2) (‘the basic Regulation’).

1.   Request for review

The request was lodged on 12 February 2016 by five EU producers (Arctic Paper Grycksbo AB, Burgo Group SpA, Fedrigoni SpA, Lecta Group and Sappi Europe SA), jointly referred to as the ‘applicant’, representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of certain coated fine paper.

2.   Product under review

The product subject to this review is coated fine paper which is paper or paperboard coated on one or both sides (excluding kraft paper or kraft paperboard), in either sheet or rolls, and with a weight of 70 g/m2 or more but not exceeding 400 g/m2 and brightness of more than 84 (measured according to ISO 2470-1), (‘the product under review’), currently falling within CN codes ex 4810 13 00, ex 4810 14 00, ex 4810 19 00, ex 4810 22 00, ex 4810 29 30, ex 4810 29 80, ex 4810 99 10 and ex 4810 99 80 (TARIC codes 4810130020, 4810140020, 4810190020, 4810220020, 4810293020, 4810298020, 4810991020 and 4810998020).

The product under review does not include:

—

Rolls suitable for use in web-fed presses. Rolls suitable for use in web-fed presses are defined as those rolls which, if tested according to the ISO test standard ISO 3783:2006 concerning the determination of resistance to picking – accelerated speed method using the IGT tester (electric model), give a result of less than 30 N/m when measuring in the cross-direction of the paper (CD) and a result of less than 50 N/m when measuring in the machine direction (MD).

—	Multi-ply paper and multi-ply paperboard.

3.   Existing measures

The measures currently in force are a definitive anti-dumping duty imposed by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 451/2011 (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 recurrence of dumping and recurrence of injury to the Union industry.

4.1.    Allegation of likelihood of recurrence of dumping

Since, in view of the provisions of Article 2(7) of the basic Regulation, the People's Republic of China (also referred to as ‘the country concerned’) is subject to the rules applicable to be a non-market economy country, the applicant established normal value for the People's Republic of China on the basis of the prices actually paid or payable for coated fine paper in a market economy third country, namely the United States of America. The allegation of likelihood of recurrence of dumping is based on a comparison of the normal value thus established with the export price (at ex-works level) of the product under review originating in the country concerned when sold for export to Brazil, in view of the current absence of significant import volumes from the country concerned to the Union.

On the basis of the above comparison, which shows dumping, the applicant alleges that there is a likelihood of recurrence of dumping from the country concerned.

4.2.    Allegation of likelihood of recurrence of injury

The applicant alleges the likelihood of recurrence of injury. In this respect the applicant has provided prima facie 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 in the People's Republic of China, because the Union market is still attractive in terms of volume and prices, and because other third countries have trade defence measures against the product under review.

The applicant finally alleges that the removal of injury has been mainly due to the existence of measures and that any recurrence of substantial imports at dumped prices from the country concerned would likely lead to a recurrence of injury to the Union industry should measures be allowed to lapse.

5.   Procedure

Having determined, after consulting the Committee established by Article 15(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 11(2) 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 dumping of the product under review originating in the country concerned and a continuation or recurrence of injury to the Union industry.

5.1.    Review investigation period and period considered

The investigation of a continuation or recurrence of dumping will cover the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015 (‘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 2012 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 dumping

Exporting producers (4) of the product under review from the country concerned, including those that did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures in force, are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

5.2.1.   Investigating exporting producers

Procedure for selecting exporting producers to be investigated in the People's Republic of China

In view of the potentially large number of exporting producers in the People's Republic of China involved in this expiry review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit the exporting producers to be investigated to a reasonable number by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary, and if so, to select a sample, all exporting producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, 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 have to do so within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified, by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex I to this Notice.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of exporting producers, the Commission will also contact the authorities of the People's Republic of China and may contact any known associations of exporting producers.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample, excluding the information requested above, must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

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

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation with regard to exporting producers, the Commission will send questionnaires to the exporting producers selected to be in the sample, to any known association of exporting producers and to the authorities of the People's Republic of China.

All exporting producers selected to be in the sample will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

Without prejudice to the possible application of Article 18 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 exporting producers’).

5.2.2.   Additional procedure with regard to exporting producers in the non-market economy country concerned

Selection of a market economy third country

In accordance with Article 2(7)(a) of the basic Regulation, in the case of imports from the People's Republic of China normal value will be determined on the basis of the price or constructed value in a market economy third country.

In the previous investigation the United States of America was used as a market economy third country for the purpose of establishing normal value in respect of the People's Republic of China. For the purpose of the current investigation, based on the information contained in the request, it is envisaged to use again the United States of America as an appropriate market economy third country. According to the information available to the Commission, other market economy producers of the product under investigation may be located in, inter alia, India, Indonesia, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland. With the aim of finally selecting the market economy third country the Commission will examine whether there is production and sales of the product under review in those market economy third countries for which there are indications that the production of the product under review is taking place. Interested parties are hereby invited to comment on the choice of the analogue country within 10 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

5.2.3.   Investigating unrelated importers (5) (6)

Unrelated importers of the product under review from the People's Republic of China to the Union 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’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 17 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 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified, by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex II to this Notice.

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.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample, excluding the information requested above, must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under review 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.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled unrelated importers and to any known association of importers. These parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

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.

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 17 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 consult the file (for this they should contact the Commission using the contact details provided in section 5.7 below). Other Union producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, including Union producers who did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures in force, that consider that there are reasons why they should be included in the sample must contact the Commission within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, 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.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled Union producers and to any known associations of Union producers. These parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

5.4.    Procedure for the assessment of Union interest

Should the likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury be confirmed, a decision will be reached, pursuant to Article 21 of the basic Regulation, as to whether maintaining the anti-dumping measures would not be against the Union interest. Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, and representative consumer organisations are invited to make themselves known within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. In order to participate in the investigation, the representative consumer organisations have to demonstrate, within the same deadline, that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.

Parties that make themselves known within the above deadline may provide the Commission with information on the Union interest within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. This information may be provided either in a free format or by completing a questionnaire prepared by the Commission. In any case, information submitted pursuant to Article 21 will only be taken into account if supported by factual evidence at the time of submission.

5.5.    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 the Official Journal of the European Union.

5.6.    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. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the investigation the request must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within the specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties.

5.7.    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’ (7).

Interested parties providing ‘Limited’ information are required to furnish non-confidential summaries of it pursuant to Article 19(2) of the basic Regulation, which will be labelled ‘For inspection by interested parties’. These summaries must be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence. If an interested party providing confidential information does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, such information may be disregarded.

Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests by email 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 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 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 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

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Email addresses for correspondence:

For dumping aspects : TRADE-CFP-DUMPING-CHINA@ec.europa.eu For injury aspects : TRADE-CFP-INJURY-CHINA@ec.europa.eu

6.   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 18 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 18 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.

7.   Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer in trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer acts as an interface between the interested parties and the Commission investigation services. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and requests by third parties to be heard. The Hearing Officer may organise a hearing with an individual interested party and mediate to ensure that the interested parties' rights of defence are being fully exercised.

A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the investigation the request must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties.

The Hearing Officer will also provide opportunities for a hearing involving parties to take place which would allow different views to be presented and rebuttal arguments offered on issues pertaining, among other things, to the likelihood of a recurrence of dumping and injury, and Union interest.

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/.

8.   Schedule of the investigation

The investigation will be concluded, pursuant to Article 11(5) of the basic Regulation within 15 months of the date of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

9.   Possibility to request a review under Article 11(3) of the basic Regulation

As this expiry review is initiated in accordance with the provisions of Article 11(2) 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 11(6) 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 11(3) 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.

10.   Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this investigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (8).

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(1)  Notice of the impending expiry of certain anti-dumping measures (OJ C 280, 25.8.2015, p. 7).

(2)  OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 51.

(3)  Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 451/2011 of 6 May 2011 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of coated fine paper originating in the People's Republic of China (OJ L 128, 14.5.2011, p. 1).

(4)  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.

(5)  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. For the definition of a related party see footnote 3 in Annex I to this Notice.

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

(7)  A ‘Limited’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 (OJ L 343, 22.12.2009 p. 51) and Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-Dumping 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).

(8)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/19

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Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the countervailing measures applicable to imports of certain coated fine paper originating in the People’s Republic of China

(2016/C 172/07)

Following the publication of a Notice of impending expiry (1) of the countervailing measures in force on the imports of certain coated fine paper originating in the People’s Republic of China, the European Commission (‘the Commission’) has received a request for review pursuant to Article 18 of Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 of 11 June 2009 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Community (2) (‘the basic Regulation’).

1.   Request for review

The request was lodged on 12 February 2016 by five EU producers (Arctic Paper Grycksbo AB, Burgo Group SpA, Fedrigoni SpA, Lecta Group and Sappi Europe SA), jointly referred to as the ‘applicant’, representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of certain coated fine paper.

2.   Product under review

The product subject to this review is coated fine paper which is paper or paperboard coated on one or both sides (excluding kraft paper or kraft paperboard), in either sheet or rolls, and with a weight of 70 g/m2 or more but not exceeding 400 g/m2 and brightness of more than 84 (measured according to ISO 2470-1), (‘the product under review’), currently falling within CN codes ex 4810 13 00, ex 4810 14 00, ex 4810 19 00, ex 4810 22 00, ex 4810 29 30, ex 4810 29 80, ex 4810 99 10 and ex 4810 99 80 (TARIC codes 4810130020, 4810140020, 4810190020, 4810220020, 4810293020, 4810298020, 4810991020 and 4810998020).

The product under review does not include:

—

Rolls suitable for use in web-fed presses. Rolls suitable for use in web-fed presses are defined as those rolls which, if tested according to the ISO test standard ISO 3783:2006 concerning the determination of resistance to picking – accelerated speed method using the IGT tester (electric model), give a result of less than 30 N/m when measuring in the cross-direction of the paper (CD) and a result of less than 50 N/m when measuring in the machine direction (MD).

—	Multi-ply paper and multi-ply paperboard.

3.   Existing measures

The measures currently in force are a definitive countervailing duty imposed by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 (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 of subsidisation and recurrence of injury to the Union industry.

4.1.    Allegation of likelihood of continuation of subsidisation

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

The subsidy practices consist, inter alia, of (1) direct transfer of funds and potential direct transfers of funds or liabilities, for example various grants, preferential loans and directed credits by state-owned banks, export credits and export guarantees and insurances; (2) government revenue forgone or not collected, for example income tax reductions and exemptions, import tariff rebates and VAT exemptions and rebates; (3) government provision of goods or services other than general infrastructure, for example government provision of land, power, water and raw materials for production of the product under review; 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 and provision of goods and services (power, water, raw materials) for less than adequate remuneration by private companies which, according to the request, are required to follow government policies and act in the same way as state-owned banks or state-owned enterprises.

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

The applicant alleges that the above schemes are subsidies since they involve a financial contribution from the Government of the People's Republic of China or regional and local governments the People's Republic of China and confer a benefit to exporting producers of the product under review. They are alleged to be specific to an enterprise or industry or group of enterprises or industries and therefore countervailable.

4.2.    Allegation of likelihood of recurrence of injury

The applicant alleges the likelihood of recurrence of injury. In this respect the applicant has provided prima facie 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 in the People’s Republic of China, because the Union market is still attractive in terms of volume and prices, and because other third countries have trade defence measures against the product under review.

The applicant finally alleges that the removal of injury has been mainly due to the existence of measures and that any recurrence of substantial imports at subsidised prices from the country concerned would likely lead to a recurrence of injury to the Union industry should measures be allowed to lapse.

5.   Procedure

Having determined, after consulting the Committee established by Article 15(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 of 30 November 2009 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (4), 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 People’s Republic of China has been invited for consultations.

5.1.    Review investigation period and period considered

The investigation of a continuation or recurrence of subsidisation will cover the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015 (‘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 2012 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

Exporting producers (5) of the product under review from the country concerned, including those that did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures in force, are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

Investigating exporting producers

Procedure for selecting exporting producers to be investigated in the People’s Republic of China

Sampling

In view of the potentially large number of exporting producers in the People’s Republic of China involved in this expiry review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit the exporting producers to be investigated to a reasonable number by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The 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 exporting producers, 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 have to do so within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified, by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex I to this Notice.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of exporting producers, the Commission will also contact the authorities of the People’s Republic of China and may contact any known associations of exporting producers.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample, excluding the information requested above, must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

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

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation with regard to exporting producers, the Commission will send questionnaires to the exporting producers selected to be in the sample, to any known association of exporting producers and to the authorities of the People’s Republic of China.

All exporting producers selected to be in the sample will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

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 exporting 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.

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 consult the file (for this they should contact the Commission using the contact details provided in section 5.7 below). Other Union producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, including Union producers who did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures in force, that consider that there are reasons why they should be included in the sample must contact the Commission within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, 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.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled Union producers and to any known associations of Union producers. These parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

5.4.    Procedure for the assessment of Union interest

Should the likelihood of continuation or recurrence of subsidisation and 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, and representative consumer organisations are invited to make themselves known within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. In order to participate in the investigation, the representative consumer organisations have to demonstrate, within the same deadline, that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.

Parties that make themselves known within the above deadline may provide the Commission with information on the Union interest within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. This information may be provided either in a free format or by completing a questionnaire prepared by the Commission. 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.

Investigating unrelated importers (6) (7)

Unrelated importers of the product under review from the People’s Republic of China to the Union 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’). The 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 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified, by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex II to this Notice.

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.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample, excluding the information requested above, must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under review 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.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled unrelated importers and to any known association of importers. These parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

5.5.    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 the Official Journal of the European Union.

5.6.    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. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the investigation the request must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within the specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties.

5.7.    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’ (8).

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’. These summaries must be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence. If an interested party providing confidential information does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, such information may be disregarded.

Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests by e-mail including scanned powers of attorney and certification sheets, with the exception of voluminous replies which shall be submitted on a CD-ROM or DVD by hand or by registered mail. By using e-mail, interested parties express their agreement with the rules applicable to electronic submissions contained in the document ‘CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN TRADE DEFENCE CASES’ published on the website of the Directorate-General for Trade: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/june/tradoc_148003.pdf. The interested parties must indicate their name, address, telephone and a valid e-mail address and they should ensure that the provided e-mail address is a functioning official business e-mail which is checked on a daily basis. Once contact details are provided, the Commission will communicate with interested parties by e-mail only, unless they explicitly request to receive all documents from the Commission by another means of communication or unless the nature of the document to be sent requires the use of a registered mail. For further rules and information concerning correspondence with the Commission including principles that apply to submissions by e-mail, interested parties should consult the communication instructions with interested parties referred to above.

Commission address for correspondence:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Trade

Directorate H

Office: CHAR 04/039

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

E-mail addresses for correspondence:

For subsidy aspects : TRADE-CFP-SUBSIDY-CHINA@ec.europa.eu For injury aspects : TRADE-CFP-INJURY-CHINA@ec.europa.eu

6.   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.

7.   Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer in trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer acts as an interface between the interested parties and the Commission investigation services. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and requests by third parties to be heard. The Hearing Officer may organise a hearing with an individual interested party and mediate to ensure that the interested parties' rights of defence are being fully exercised.

A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the investigation the request must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties.

The Hearing Officer will also provide opportunities for a hearing involving parties to take place which would allow different views to be presented and rebuttal arguments offered on issues pertaining, among other things, to the likelihood of a recurrence of subsidisation and injury, and Union interest.

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/.

8.   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.

9.   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.

10.   Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this investigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (9).

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(1)  Notice of the impending expiry of certain countervailing measures (OJ C 280, 25.8.2015, p. 8).

(2)  OJ L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 93.

(3)  Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011 imposing a definitive anti-subsidy duty on imports of coated fine paper originating in the People’s Republic of China (OJ L 128, 14.5.2011, p. 18).

(4)  OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p. 51.

(5)  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.

(6)  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. For the definition of a related party see footnote 3 in Annex I to this Notice.

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

(8)  A ‘Limited’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 29 of Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 (OJ L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 93). 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).

(9)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/29

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Notice of initiation of an anti-subsidy proceeding concerning imports of certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel originating in the People's Republic of China

(2016/C 172/08)

The European Commission (‘the Commission’) has received a complaint pursuant to Article 10 of Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 of 11 June 2009 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Community (1) (‘the basic Regulation’), alleging that imports of certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel, originating in the People's Republic of China, are being subsidised and are thereby causing material injury (2) to the Union industry.

1.   Complaint

The complaint was lodged on 31 March 2016 by The European Steel Association (EUROFER) (‘the complainant’) on behalf of producers representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of certain hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel.

2.   Product under investigation

The product subject to this investigation is certain flat rolled products of iron, non-alloy steel or other alloy steel (not including stainless steel), whether or not in coils (including products cut-to-length and ‘narrow strip’), not further worked than hot-rolled (Hot-rolled flat), not clad, plated or coated, excluding grain-oriented silicon electrical steel (‘the product under investigation’).

3.   Allegation of subsidisation

The product allegedly being subsidised is the product under investigation, originating in the People's Republic of China (‘the country concerned’), currently falling within CN codes 7208 10 00, 7208 25 00, 7208 26 00, 7208 27 00, 7208 36 00, 7208 37 00, 7208 38 00, 7208 39 00, 7208 40 00, 7208 52 99, 7208 53 90, 7208 54 00, 7211 14 00, 7211 19 00, 7225 19 10, 7225 30 10, 7225 30 30, 7225 30 90, 7225 40 12, 7225 40 15, ex 7225 40 60, 7225 40 90, 7226 19 10, ex 7226 20 00, 7226 91 20, 7226 91 91 and 7226 91 99. These CN codes are given for information only.

The prima facie evidence provided by the complainant shows that the producers of the product under investigation from the People's Republic of China have benefitted from a number of subsidies granted by the Government of the People's Republic of China.

The subsidies consist, inter alia, of direct and potential direct transfers of funds or liabilities, foregone government revenue that is otherwise due and government provision of goods or services at less than adequate remuneration. The complainant presented evidence for example of subsidisation through the establishment of the Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Bases and Common Service Platforms schemes, preferential lending and guarantee facilities and provision of energy at preferential rates to the steel sector.

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

It is alleged that the above schemes are subsidies since they involve a financial contribution from the Government of the People's Republic of China or other regional governments (including public bodies) and confer a benefit. They are alleged to be limited to only certain enterprises and are therefore specific and countervailable.

4.   Allegation of threat of injury and causation

The complainant provides evidence that imports of the product under investigation from the county concerned have increased overall in absolute terms and in terms of market share at a significant rate indicating the likelihood of substantially increased imports.

Moreover, it is alleged that imports are entering the Union at prices that have already had, among other consequences, negative impact on the level of the sales prices, quantities sold, market share and profits of the Union industry.

Furthermore, the complainant provides prima facie evidence that there is sufficient freely disposable capacity in the People's Republic of China and also that there is an imminent and substantial increase in such capacity indicating the likelihood of substantially increased imports.

It is also alleged that the flow of subsidised imports is likely to substantially rise due to decreasing domestic consumption in the country concerned and the recent trade defence measures imposed and investigations recently initiated on imports of similar products in traditional markets other than the Union, such as in the United States of America, Canada, South Africa, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Mexico and Turkey. This indicates a likelihood of a redirection of exports from these markets to the Union leading to a substantial increase of subsidised imports.

The complainant argues that while inventories do not appear to have increased, this is the result of constantly decreasing export prices and slowing domestic demand, which urges the exporting producers from the country concerned to liquidate immediately their production and even existing stocks fearing stock devaluation.

It is alleged that the change in circumstances outlined above is clearly foreseen and imminent and material injury would occur due to the imminent further subsidised imports.

5.   Procedure

Having determined, after informing the Member States, that the complaint has been lodged by or on behalf of the Union industry and that there is sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of a proceeding, the Commission hereby initiates an investigation pursuant to Article 10 of the basic Regulation.

The investigation will determine whether the product under investigation originating in the country concerned is being subsidised and whether these subsidised imports have caused or threaten to cause injury to the Union industry. If the conclusions are affirmative, the investigation will examine whether the imposition of measures would not be against the Union interest.

The Government of the People's Republic of China has been invited for consultations.

5.1.    Investigation period and period considered

The investigation of subsidisation and injury will cover the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015 (‘the investigation period’). The examination of trends relevant for the assessment of injury will cover the period from 1 January 2012 to the end of the investigation period (‘the period considered’).

5.2.    Procedure for the determination of subsidisation

Exporting producers (3) of the product under investigation from the country concerned and the authorities of the country concerned are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

5.2.1.   Investigating exporting producers

Procedure for selecting exporting producers to be investigated in the country concerned

(a)   Sampling

In view of the potentially large number of exporting producers in the country concerned involved in this proceeding and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit the exporting producers to be investigated to a reasonable number by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The 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 exporting producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, are hereby requested to make themselves known to the Commission. These parties have to do so within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified, by providing the Commission with information on their company(ies) requested in Annex I to this Notice.

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

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample, excluding the information requested above, must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

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

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its investigation with regard to exporting producers, the Commission will send questionnaires to the exporting producers selected to be in the sample, to any known association of exporting producers, and to the authorities of the country concerned.

All exporting producers, selected to be in the sample, and the authorities of the country concerned will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

Without prejudice to the 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 exporting producers’). Without prejudice to Section (b) below, the countervailing duty that may be applied to imports from non-sampled cooperating exporting producers will not exceed the weighted average margin of subsidisation established for the exporting producers in the sample (4).

(b)   Individual subsidy margin for companies not included in the sample

Non-sampled cooperating exporting producers may request, pursuant to Article 27(3) of the basic Regulation, that the Commission establish their individual subsidy margins. The exporting producers wishing to claim an individual subsidy margin must request a questionnaire and return it duly completed within 37 days of the date of notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

However, exporting producers claiming an individual subsidy margin should be aware that the Commission may nonetheless decide not to determine their individual subsidy margin if, for instance, the number of exporting producers is so large that such determination would be unduly burdensome and would prevent the timely completion of the investigation.

5.2.2.   Investigating unrelated importers (5) (6)

Unrelated importers of the product under investigation from the country concerned to the Union are invited to participate in this investigation.

In view of the potentially large number of unrelated importers involved in this proceeding 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’). The 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, are hereby requested to make themselves known to the Commission. These parties must do so within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified, by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex II to this Notice.

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.

All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample, excluding the information requested above, must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under investigation originating in 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.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled unrelated importers and to any known association of importers. These parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

5.3.    Procedure for the determination of injury and investigating Union producers

A determination of injury is based on positive evidence and involves an objective examination of the volume of the subsidised imports, their effect on prices on the Union market and the consequent impact of those imports on the Union industry. In order to establish the situation of the Union industry, Union producers of the product under investigation are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

Investigating Union producers

In view of the large number of Union producers involved in this proceeding 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 consult the file (for this they should contact the Commission using the contact details provided in Section 5.7 below). 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 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. All interested parties wishing to submit any other relevant information regarding the selection of the sample must do so within 21 days of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, 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.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled Union producers and to any known association of Union producers. These parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 37 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

5.4.    Procedure for the assessment of Union interest

Should the existence of subsidisation and injury caused thereby be established, a decision will be reached, pursuant to Article 31 of the basic Regulation, as to whether the adoption of anti-subsidy measures would not be against the Union interest. Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, and representative consumer organisations are invited to make themselves known within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. In order to participate in the investigation, the representative consumer organisations have to demonstrate, within the same deadline, that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation.

Parties that make themselves known within the above deadline may provide the Commission with information on the Union interest within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified. This information may be provided either in a free format or by completing a questionnaire prepared by the Commission. 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.

5.5.    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 the Official Journal of the European Union.

5.6.    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 should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the investigation the request must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within the specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties.

5.7.    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’ (7).

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’. These summaries should be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence. If an interested party providing confidential information does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, such confidential information may be disregarded.

Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests by email 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 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 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 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

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Email SUBSIDY : TRADE-HRF-SUBSIDY@ec.europa.eu Email INJURY : TRADE-HRF-INJURY@ec.europa.eu

6.   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, provisional or final 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.

7.   Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer in trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer acts as an interface between the interested parties and the Commission investigation services. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and requests by third parties to be heard. The Hearing Officer may organise a hearing with an individual interested party and mediate to ensure that the interested parties' rights of defence are being fully exercised.

A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. For hearings on issues pertaining to the initial stage of the investigation the request must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Thereafter, a request to be heard must be submitted within specific deadlines set by the Commission in its communication with the parties.

The Hearing Officer will also provide opportunities for a hearing involving parties to take place which would allow different views to be presented and rebuttal arguments offered on issues pertaining, among other things, to subsidisation, injury, causal link and Union interest. Such a hearing would, as a rule, take place at the latest at the end of the fourth week following the disclosure of provisional findings.

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/

8.   Schedule of the investigation

The investigation will be concluded, pursuant to Article 11(9) of the basic Regulation within 13 months of the date of the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. In accordance with Article 12(1) of the basic Regulation, provisional measures may be imposed no later than nine months from the publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

9.   Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this investigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (8).

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(1)  OJ L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 93.

(2)  The general term ‘injury’ refers to material injury as well as to threat of material injury or material retardation as set out in Article 2(d) of the basic Regulation.

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

(4)  Pursuant to Article 15(3) of the basic Regulation, any zero and de minimis amounts of countervailable subsidies and amounts of countervailable subsidies established in the circumstances referred to in Article 28 of the basic Regulation shall be disregarded.

(5)  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 (OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1). In this context ‘person’ means any natural or legal person.

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

(7)  A ‘Limited’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 29 of Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 (OJ L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 93) and Article 12 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. 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).

(8)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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13.5.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 172/40

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Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.7956 — Johnson Controls/Tyco International)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2016/C 172/09)

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(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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