Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 10 October 2012 — Shanghai Biaowu High-Tensile Fasteners and Shanghai Prime Machinery v Council

(Case T-170/09)

Dumping — Imports of certain iron or steel fasteners originating in China — Market economy treatment — Time-limit for adopting the decision on that treatment — Principle of sound administration — Burden of proof — Duty to state reasons — Article 2(7)(b) and (c) and (10) of Regulation (EC) No 384/96 (now Article 2(7)(b) and (c) and (10) of Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009)

1.                     Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Regulation imposing anti-dumping duties — Varying duties imposed on a series of undertakings — Admissibility limited, for each undertaking, to the provisions of the regulation concerning it (Art. 230, fourth para., EC) (see paras 42, 43)

2.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Dumping margin — Determination of normal value — Imports from countries not having a market economy as referred to in Article 2(7)(b) of Regulation No 384/96 — Procedure for assessing the conditions allowing a producer to benefit from market economy treatment — Commission exceeding the three-month time-limit laid down by Article 2(7)(c), second paragraph, of that regulation — Consequences (Council Regulation No 384/96, as amended by Regulation No 1225/2009, Art. 2(7)(c)) (see paras 45, 48-50, 52, 54, 59, 60, 62)

3.                     European Union law — Interpretation — Methods — Literal, systematic, historic and teleological interpretation — Account to be taken of the reasoning for the measure in question (see paras 68-70)

4.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Dumping margin — Determination of the normal value — Imports from countries not having a market economy as referred to in Article 2(7)(b) of Regulation No 384/96 — Application of the rules for countries with a market economy — Strict interpretation (Council Regulation No 384/96, as amended by Regulation No 1225/2009, Art. 2(7)(a) and (b)) (see paras 74-78, 82-84, 87-89)

5.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Dumping margin — Determination of the normal value — Granting of market economy operator status — Conditions — Burden of proof on producers — Assessment of evidence a matter for the institutions — Judicial review — Limits (Council Regulation No 384/96, as amended by Regulation No 1225/2009, Art. 2(7)(b) and (c)) (see paras 91, 92, 99, 100)

6.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Dumping margin — Determination of the normal value — Granting of market economy operator status — Conditions — Burden of proof on producers — Not unreasonable (Council Regulation No 384/96, as amended by Regulation No 1225/2009, Art. 2(7)(b) and (c)) (see paras 106-108)

7.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Dumping margin — Comparison between the normal value and the export price — Adjustments — Differences in raw material prices affecting the prices of the products concerned — Differences in price to be demonstrated in the context of a single domestic market and not in relation to other markets (Council Regulation No 384/96, as amended by Regulation No 1225/2009, Art. 2(7)(a) and (10)(k)) (see paras 122, 123)

8.                     Acts of the institutions — Statement of reasons — Obligation — Scope — Regulations imposing anti-dumping duties (Art. 253 EC) (see para. 126)

9.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Investigation — Observance of the rights of the defence — Duty of institutions to ensure that undertakings concerned kept informed (Council Regulation No 384/96, as amended by Regulation No 1225/2009, Arts 6(7) and 20(1)) (see paras 130-132, 135)

Re:

Operative part

The Court: