13 EU anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and
safeguard activities
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny
|
| Document details | Commission report on EU anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard activities in 2013
|
| Legal base | —
|
| Department | Business, Innovation and Skills
|
| Document numbers | (36660), 5934/15 + ADD 1, COM(15) 43
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
13.1 When dumping takes place, the country affected
is allowed to take anti-dumping measures, and, within the EU,
Council Regulation (EC) No. 1225/2009 enables the Commission to
take provisional measures, whilst substantive steps are reserved
to the Council. The current document comprises a Commission report
on the EU's anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard activities
in 2013, and notes that, during the year, the level of activity
was in line with the average for recent years, with review investigations
again accounting for a major part of its services concerned with
Trade Defence Instruments.
13.2 Although this is a purely factual report,
we regard the Commission's anti-dumping activities as being of
some importance. Consequently, although we are content to clear
the document, we are drawing it to the attention of the House.
Full details of the document:
Commission Report on European Union's anti-dumping, anti-subsidy
and safeguard activities 2013: (36660), 5934/15 + ADD 1, COM(15)
43.
Background
13.3 When dumping takes place, international law
allows the country affected to take anti-dumping measures, and
the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) sets out
detailed rules relating to the calculation of dumping; the procedures
for initiating and pursuing an investigation; the imposition of
provisional measures; the imposition and collection of anti-dumping
duties; and the duration and review of such measures. Similar
procedures apply in the case of subsidised imports.
13.4 These provisions have been enshrined in EU law,
with Council Regulation (EC) No. 1225/2009 allowing the Commission
to take provisional measures, whilst substantive steps are reserved
to the Council. Commission Regulations are not depositable: and,
whilst Commission proposals for Council Regulations are
in principle depositable, they usually contain a great deal of
commercially confidential information. They are therefore not
published until they have been agreed by the Council, at which
point they are invariably cleared as not being of sufficient legal
or political importance to warrant a substantive Report to the
House.
The current document
13.5 The current document comprises a Commission
report on the EU's anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard activities
in 2013. It notes that the EU had in force 86 anti-dumping and
12 anti-subsidy measures at the end of that year, affecting 0.29%
of total imports, adding that, during the year, the level of activity
was in line with the average for recent years, with nine new investigations
being launched. In that same period, provisional duties were imposed
in six proceedings, 15 cases were concluded with the imposition
of definitive duties, 11 were concluded without measures, and
six measures expired automatically after five years.
13.6 The Commission says that review investigations
again accounted for a major part of its services concerned with
Trade Defence Instruments, and involved a number of headings,
as follows:
— Expiry reviews
The Commission notes that measures expire after five
years, unless an expiry review demonstrates that they should be
maintained, and that 17 expiry review investigations were initiated
in 2013, another five were concluded by confirming that the duty
should be maintained for a further five years, and eight were
concluded by the termination of measures.
— Interim reviews
The Regulation provides for measures to be reviewed
during their period of validity, and the Commission says that,
in 2013, ten interim reviews were initiated, three were concluded
with confirmation or amendment of the duty, and three interim
reviews were concluded with the termination of the measure.
— "Other" interim reviews
The Commission says that four "other" reviews
were initiated in 2013, whilst three were concluded.
— New exporter reviews
The Regulation allows reviews to establish an individual
dumping margin or countervailing duty for those undertakings which
did not export during the investigation period, and, where an
exporter can establish that it started to export to the EU after
that period, it is generally entitled to a duty lower that the
country-wide duty. The Commission says that two new exporter reviews
were initiated in 2013, whilst one was concluded.
— Absorption investigations
Where it appears that, following an investigation
and prior to or following the imposition of measures, export prices
have decreased or there has been no or insufficient movement in
the resale prices or subsequent selling prices of the imported
product in the EU, an "absorption" review may be opened
to examine whether the measure has had an effect on those prices,
and dumping margins may be recalculated and the duty increased.
However, the Commission says that there were no such reviews in
2013.
— Circumvention investigations
The Commission says that the Regulation allows investigations
to be re-opened if there is evidence to show that measures are
being circumvented, and that three such investigations were initiated
in 2013, whilst 12 were concluded with an extension of duty and
three were concluded without such an extension.
— Safeguard investigations
The Commission says that there was no activity in
this area in 2013.
13.7 The Commission also mentions its recent review
of the EU's current system of Trade Defence Instruments, and draws
attention to the Communication and draft Regulation which it put
forward in April 2013,[64]
which we reported to the House on 21 May 2013, and which is currently
subject to the ordinary legislative procedure in the European
Parliament and Council.
The Government's view
13.8 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 26 February
2015, the Minister for Trade and Investment at the Department
for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Livingston of Parkhead)
says that the document relates primarily to past decisions taken
by the EU or measures in place against third countries, and has
no policy or financial implications.
Previous Committee Reports
None.
64 See (34838), 8493/13 and (34863), 8495/13: Third
Report HC 83-iii (2013-14), chapter 6 (21 May 2013). Back
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