Council Regulation (EC) No 1050/2002 of 13 June 2002 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of recordable compact disks originating in Taiwan

• Published date: 18 June 2002
• Subject Matter: Commercial policy,Dumping
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 160, 18 June 2002

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Council Regulation (EC) No 1050/2002 of 13 June 2002 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of recordable compact disks originating in Taiwan

Official Journal L 160 , 18/06/2002 P. 0002 - 0013

Council Regulation (EC) No 1050/2002

of 13 June 2002

imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of recordable compact disks originating in Taiwan

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community(1), (hereinafter referred to as the "basic Regulation"), and in particular Article 9 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission after consulting the Advisory Committee,

Whereas:

A. PROVISIONAL MEASURES

(1) The Commission, by Regulation (EC) No 2479/2001(2), (hereinafter referred to as the provisional Regulation), imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of recordable compact disks (CD-Rs) falling within CN code ex 8523 90 00 (TARIC code 8523 90 00*10 ) and originating in Taiwan.

(2) It is recalled that the investigation of dumping and injury covered the period from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the investigation period or IP). The examination of trends relevant for the injury analysis covered the period from 1 January 1997 to the end of the IP (hereinafter referred to as the period considered).

B. SUBSEQUENT PROCEDURE

(3) Subsequent to the disclosure of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was decided to impose provisional anti-dumping measures, several interested parties submitted comments in writing. In accordance with the provisions of Article 6(5) of the basic Regulation, the parties who so requested were granted an opportunity to be heard orally.

(4) The Commission continued to seek and verify all information it deemed necessary for the establishment of definitive findings.

(5) All parties were informed of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it was intended to recommend the imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties and the definitive collection of amounts secured by way of provisional duties.

(6) They were also granted a period within which they could make representations subsequent to this disclosure.

(7) The oral and written comments submitted by the interested parties were considered and, where appropriate, the provisional findings have been modified accordingly.

(8) Following the adoption of provisional measures, two companies, Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, Taipei and Rimma International Inc., Taipei in Taiwan, applied for new exporting producer status and requested not to be treated differently from the companies that cooperated in the investigation. However, since sampling has been used in the investigation of dumping, a new exporters' review pursuant to Article 11(4) of the basic Regulation with the objective of determining individual dumping margins cannot be initiated in this proceeding. The examination of these requests together with the additional evidence provided by these companies showed that only one of them, Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, fulfilled all the requirements of Article 11(4) of the basic Regulation, which would otherwise apply, i.e.:

- that it did not export the product concerned to the Community during the IP,

- that it is not related to any of the exporters or producers in Taiwan which are subject to the provisional anti-dumping measures, and

- that it has actually exported the product concerned to the Community after the IP on which the measures are based, or it has entered into an irrevocable contractual obligation to export a significant quantity to the Community.

In these circumstances, in order to ensure equal treatment for this new exporting producer and the cooperating companies not included in the sample, Nan Ya Plastics Corporation was added to the list of companies subject to the weighted average duty rate listed in Article 1(2) of the provisional Regulation.

C. PRODUCT CONCERNED AND LIKE PRODUCT

1. Product concerned

(9) Given the similar appearance of recordable compact disks (CD-Rs) and re-writable compact disks (CD-RWs) which are not covered by the investigation, the complainant, the Committee of European CD-R Manufacturers (CECMA), requested that the product under consideration (CD-Rs) should be distinguished from CD-RWs in order to ensure the proper application of the duties imposed.

(10) The nature of the disk is normally mentioned on the disk itself or on the packaging. Therefore, no particular additional specification appears to be necessary. In the unlikely event that such identification would be absent, the colour of the non-printed side of the disc gives an indication of the nature of the product. CD-Rs show on their non-printed sides either bright colours (such as cyanine light blue, phtalocyanine green, yellow, or green/yellow combined, silver and gold) or azo dark blue. CD-RWs show a dark grey colour with a low reflectivity compared to CD-Rs.

(11) CD-Rs, which have a size that is smaller than the standard diameter of 12 cm, fall under the description of the product concerned. The 8 cm CD-R holds a lower capacity or play duration than the standard 12 cm CD-R. Some 8 cm CD-Rs have been further adapted to match the size of a business card, but the characteristics of such a CD-R remain the same as of a 12 cm CD-R, despite the difference in the form of the disc. All mentioned types of smaller CD-R can be used by any personal computer in the same way as a 12 cm CD-R. Therefore, the 8 cm CD-R and the business card type CD-R are both covered by the investigation and by the measures adopted.

(12) The so-called minidisc, however, should be distinguished from CD-Rs. Although the minidisc is a recordable optical product, using the same laser technology as the CD-R, it is at the same time erasable and always encased in a fixed housing, comparable to that of 3,5 inch diskettes. To write/read on the minidisc requires specific equipment (minidisc recorder or player), which does not form part of a personal computer. In view of the differences in physical characteristics and as the targeted market is entirely different, the minidisc is not covered by the measures adopted.

(13) Some parties claimed that the definition of the product concerned in the provisional Regulation did not take account of the fact that various types of packaging for CD-Rs are encountered on the market. The issue of packaging, the related costs of production and the comparison of the Community industry's production with Taiwanese imports are dealt with under point 2(b) "Price undercutting" and under point 3(a) "Cost of production and profitability" of Section "G. Injury" of this Regulation. It should be noted that packaging is only relevant in the context of the analysis of price comparison and not for the definition of the product concerned.

(14) In view of the above, the provisional findings as described in recitals 9 and 10 of the provisional Regulation are confirmed.

2. Like product

(15) In the absence of any further comments, the definition of the like product as described in recital 11 of the provisional Regulation is confirmed.

D. SAMPLING

(16) No comments concerning the sampling of Taiwanese exporting producers were received and, therefore, the conclusions set out in recitals (12) to (18) of the provisional Regulation are hereby confirmed.

E. DUMPING

1. Normal value

(17) Following the adoption of provisional measures, one exporting producer requested the exclusion of the selling, general and administrative expenses (SG and A) of its related company in the domestic market from the total SG and A expenses used in the ordinary course of trade test and in constructing normal value. The exporting producer argued that its related company was set up to conduct internet business, which incurs high SG and A costs and merely became involved, temporarily, with sales of the product concerned to help it improve its financial situation. The exporting producer claimed that almost all SG and A expenses of its related company were unrelated to the sales of the product concerned. It also requested the Commission to disregard completely, for the dumping calculations, the domestic sales of the related company for the same reasons.

(18) In this respect, the claim to disregard completely the domestic sales and the SG and A expenses of the related company was rejected as it could not be supported by any verified information. However, in determining normal value the Commission accepted to exclude certain amounts of SG and A expenses which were shown not to relate to domestic sales of the product concerned.

(19) Two exporting producers claimed that the Commission should not have allocated all interest expenses to the product concerned but only those related to the operational activities. They argued that long-term and short-term investments form part of total assets and require financing and hence, incur interest expenses that are not related to the production and sales of the product concerned.

(20) This claim was accepted because it was shown that certain financing expenses did not concern operational activities related to the production and sales of the product concerned. The SG and A expenses were therefore revised before being used in the ordinary course of trade test and in constructing normal value.

2. Export price

(21) No claims were made concerning the determination of the export price. The conclusions set out in recital 26 of the provisional Regulation are hereby confirmed.

3. Comparison

(22) Three exporting producers claimed that the Commission proceeded to a...