Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Injury - Commission' s assessment based on a number of essential factors - Partially erroneous assessment - Consequences

(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 4(2) )

2. Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Injury - Volume of imports - Determination on the basis of answers to questionnaires supplied by the exporters concerned - Acceptability in the absence of usable Community statistics

(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 4(2) )

3. Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Injury - Volume of imports - Trend of the market share of imports - Assessment relative to volume of whole market - Obligation to state specific reasons - None

(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 4(2) )

4. Common commercial policy - Protection against dumping - Injury - Impact of volume and prices of imports on the relevant Community production - Examination in terms of real or virtual trends - Obligation of Community producers to collaborate

(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 4(2) )

Summary

1. When the Commission, in examining a complaint relating to imports effected at dumping prices and applying, for the examination of any injury, Article 4(2) of the basic anti-dumping regulation, No 2423/88, has examined all the factors listed in that paragraph, and has regarded certain factors as essential, an erroneous assessment of some of those factors cannot be regarded as having no influence on the validity of the decision adopted.

2. As regards the volume of imports which, in pursuance of Article 4(2) of the basic anti-dumping regulation, No 2423/88, must be taken into account in assessing the injury due to imports effected at dumping prices, the Commission cannot be criticized for relying on the specific data resulting from its investigation, namely the answers to questionnaires supplied by the exporters concerned, even if they do not correspond to the Community statistics, where the latter classify the products in question under a tariff heading which includes other products also and therefore cannot be used as evidence. In fact, by acting in such a way the Commission has determined the volume of the imports in question on the basis of the information reasonably available to it.

3. Under Article 4(2)(a) of the basic anti-dumping regulation, No 2423/88, the volume of imports must be examined to determine in particular whether there has been a significant increase, either in absolute terms or relative to production or consumption in the Community.

It follows that, if the increase in imports is not expressed in absolute terms, the market share covered by the imports alleged to have been dumped must in principle be assessed in relation to the whole of Community production or consumption, that is, by reference to the volume of the "whole market". An exception to this rule can be justified only in so far as the market concerned shows a clear separation between a "captive market" and the "free market", since in such a case sales on the "captive market" do not come into competition with products sold on the "free market" and cannot therefore be subject to the effects of any dumping.

In assessing the trend of the market share covered by the imports on the basis of the "whole market", the Commission is only applying the general rule set out in Article 4(2)(a) of the basic anti-dumping regulation, so that no specific statement of reasons is required.

4. In accordance with the actual wording of Article 4(2)(c) of the basic anti-dumping regulation, No 2423/88, the impact of the imports must be assessed on the basis of the trends in the relevant economic factors. That implies that it is possible to draw valid conclusions on the impact of the imports only if, in particular, the Community producers' financial situation at the time of the investigation can be compared with that of preceding years, which presupposes that the undertakings concerned will collaborate with the Commission and provide it with the data relating to their financial situation in preceding years.