Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 16 December 2020.Changmao Biochemical Engineering Co. Ltd v European Commission.Dumping – Imports of tartaric acid originating in China – Extension of a definitive anti-dumping duty – Determination of the normal value – Protocol of Accession of China to the WTO – Analogue country methodology – Article 2(7) and Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 – Vulnerability of the Union industry – Likelihood of recurrence of injury – Rights of the defence – Obligation to state reasons.Case T-541/18.

Judgment // 16/12/2020 // 4 min read
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Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 16 December 2020 –Changmao Biochemical Engineering v Commission

(Case T‑541/18)

(Dumping – Imports of tartaric acid originating in China – Extension of a definitive anti-dumping duty – Determination of the normal value – Protocol of Accession of China to the WTO – Analogue country methodology – Article 2 (7) and Article 11 (2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 – Vulnerability of the Union industry – Likelihood of recurrence of injury – Rights of the defence – Obligation to state reasons)

  1. International agreements – Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation – GATT 1994 – Not possible to invoke WTO agreements to challenge the legality of an EU measure – Exceptions – EU measure intended to ensure its implementation or referring thereto expressly and precisely – Application in anti-dumping matters

(Art. 216(2) TFEU; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994; Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1994 Anti-Dumping Agreement); Protocol on the Accession of China to the WTO; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, recital 3 and Art. 2(7))

(see paras 56-60, 63-67, 74)

  1. EU law – Interpretation – Methods – Interpretation in the light of the international agreements concluded by the Union – Interpretation of Regulation 2016/1036 in the light of the Protocol on the Accession of China to the WTO

(Protocol on the Accession of China to the WTO; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036)

(see paras 61, 68, 71-73)

  1. International agreements – Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation – Ruling of the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO finding non-compliance with the substantive rules of that agreement – Not possible to rely on those agreements or that ruling to contest the legality of an EU measure

(see para. 77)

  1. Judicial proceedings – Application initiating proceedings – Formal requirements – Identification of the subject matter of the dispute – Summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based – Abstract statement – Inadmissibility

(Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 76(d))

(see para. 78)

  1. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Injury – Discretion of the institutions – Judicial review – Limits

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Arts 4 (1), 5 (4) and 11 (2))

(see paras 93-96)

  1. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Injury – Concept of Union industry – Discretion of the Commission – Definition of Union industry supporting a complaint – Reference to producers representing a major proportion of the total production of the like product produced by the Union industry – Whether permissible – No obligation to define the Union industry by reference to all Union producers or by including producers which did not cooperate with the investigation

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Arts 4 (1) and 5 (4))

(see paras 99, 100, 105, 106, 110, 111)

  1. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Expiry review procedure – Retaining an anti-dumping measure – Conditions – Continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury – Obligation on the institutions also to take into account factors extraneous to dumping – Criteria for assessment

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 11(2))

(see paras 119-121, 135)

  1. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Injury – Factors to be taken into consideration – Assessment as a whole

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Arts 3 (2) and 5)

(see paras 134-143)

  1. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Expiry review procedure – Distinction from the original investigation procedure

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Art. 11(2))

(see para. 150-151)

  1. Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Investigation – Observance of the rights of the defence – Duty of the institutions to keep the undertakings concerned informed, to respect the confidentiality of information, and to reconcile those obligations – Breach of the obligation to provide information – Conditions

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2016/1036, Arts 6 (7), 19 (1) to (5) and 20)

(see paras 163-175)

  1. Acts of the institutions – Statement of reasons – Obligation – Scope – Regulation imposing anti-dumping duties

(Art. 296 TFEU)

(see paras 183-189)

Re:

Application pursuant to Article 263 TFEU for the annulment of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/921 of 28 June 2018 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of tartaric acid originating in the People’s Republic of China following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11 (2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ 2018 L 164, p. 14).

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Dismisses the action;

  2. Orders Changmao Biochemical Engineering Co. Ltd to pay the costs.

Dumping , Commercial policy