Dear
members,
On 11
October, a notification was published in the Official Journal of the EU
concerning the opening of an anti-dumping investigation regarding imports of
hardwood plywood from China. Importers have 7 days to respond to the
investigation.
The
complaint filed by the Greenwood consortium concerns alleged dumping practices
potentially affecting the European market. The investigation targets
plywood (excluding bamboo and okoumé) all hardwood plywood imports of the
HS-Codes 4412 31, 4412 33, 4412 34, with at least one outer layer of tropical
wood or non-coniferous wood, the initiated investigation is labelled AD 717
Procedure
and participation for importers:
European
importers are now invited to actively participate in order to ensure a balanced
representation of their interests. Below are the main steps to be followed:
1. Respond
to the questionnaires:
a.
Importers must complete the form provided by the Commission (last two pages of the
attached notice) within 7 days of the official publication.
This form
is also available on the TRON.tdi platform, provided you have access to it https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI
b.
The Commission has indicated that if the representative companies do not
co-operate, higher anti-dumping duties may be imposed. In addition, on-the-spot
verification visits may be carried out to confirm the data submitted.
c.
The information requested includes the volume of imports of hardwood plywood
from China, the sales value and any comments on the product scope of the
investigation.
2.
participate in the consultation phase:
a.
Importers may also submit comments on the alleged injury or impact of the
investigation within 37 days from the date of publication.
b.
It is strongly recommended to provide accurate evidence in support of the
arguments.
3. respect
the deadlines:
a.
Any delay or lack of response may result in the available data being considered
less favourably, which could lead to more stringent anti-dumping measures.
4.
monitoring and follow-up:
a.
It is important to monitor the case regularly and be prepared to provide
additional responses if the Commission requests further information.
The
investigation usually lasts 12 months, but can be extended to 14. It is
advisable to monitor the proceedings and to provide accurate and verifiable
responses throughout. Further information can be found in the full notice in
the EU Official Journal, see attached doc.
The
Commission identified Garnica (ES), Paged (PL) and Panguaneta (IT) as European
producers and asked them to comment. This is only the ‘provisional sample of
Union producers’.
In the
course of the procedure, it will also be important to approach your Chinese
partners and persuade them to co-operate (and thus possibly avert AD duties) if
you intend to steer the procedure in this direction. You can also find all
information on the procedure here: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/investigations/case-view?caseId=2753
Please give
us a brief feedback if and how you intend to position yourself. GD Holz has
registered as an interested party and is currently awaiting authorisation.
Kilde: European
Commision