Commission Regulation (EC) No 628/2005 of 22 April 2005 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of farmed salmon originating in Norway

• (126) The main costs incurred by processors are the costs of the raw material and employment costs. It is true that an increase in raw material prices would increase the costs for processing. On the basis of the three most meaningful replies it was found that farmed salmon represents around 54 % of the total cost of production. These processors bought farmed salmon during the IP both in the Community (around 15 % of their purchases) and from Norway (around 83 % of their purchases). Therefore it is concluded that around 45 % of their total cost will be exposed to a duty. In this context it should also be noted that, according to the information provided by importers and processors, the costs of their raw material fell by 14 % during the period considered. During the IP, it was 9,1 percentage points cheaper than in 2001. At the same time, the information provided by them indicates that their selling prices have remained about the same in 2002 and 2003, with decreasing trend towards the IP. However, due to the low level of cooperation of users in this respect, the empirical basis is rather limited and one should be cautious in drawing conclusions for the user industry as a whole. It is also noted that only two companies reported on profitability.

• (127) As to employment, according to the replies received to the questionnaires, around 3 400 workers were employed in the fish processing sector in the Community although only a small proportion of those are concerned in processing farmed salmon. No evidence was found that the possible measures would lead to a decrease in the level of employment in the Community.

• (128) Therefore, the disadvantages likely to be suffered by importers/processors/users, if any, are not considered such as to outweigh the benefits expected to accrue to the Community producers as a consequence of the anti-dumping measures, which are considered the minimum necessary to remedy the serious injury suffered and prevent further serious deterioration in the situation of the Community producers. In addition, it should be noted that other sources of supply from other third countries also remain available.

Interest of consumers

• (129) As the product concerned is a consumer product, the Commission informed various consumer organisations of the opening of an investigation. A response was received from one party to the effect that the beneficial effects of salmon are widely recognised and that artificially increasing the price would make good nutrition choices more difficult for consumers and damage the economic viability of importers, processors and retailers of farmed salmon. It was also claimed that the measures may prevent them from importing and continuing to sell frozen farmed salmon. Concern was also expressed that any increase in prices would make farmed salmon less affordable and stifle market growth in those Member States with a lower than average gross domestic product per head (GDP).

• (130) It is considered that if anti-dumping measures are imposed, economic operators will continue to have access to unlimited quantities of imports, albeit at fair prices. Further, given the magnitude of the margins between the whole fish ex-farm and the retail price of processed salmon products, it is considered that the measures are unlikely to have a material effect on retail prices, since it is unlikely that the whole price increase will be passed on to consumers. The impact on consumers is therefore considered to be minimal. In addition, loss-making price levels are probably not sustainable in the medium to long term. The interest of consumers appears therefore overall to be best served by stable prices and a sustainable market.

Conclusion on Community Interest

• (131) On the basis of the above facts and considerations it is provisionally concluded, that there are no compelling reasons not to impose anti-dumping duties.

PROVISIONAL ANTI-DUMPING MEASURESInjury elimination level

• (132) In view of the provisional conclusions reached with regard to dumping, injury, causation and Community interest, provisional measures should be imposed in order to prevent further injury being caused to the Community industry by the dumped imports.

• (133) For the purpose of establishing the level of the provisional measures, account has been taken of both the dumping margin found and the amount of duty necessary to eliminate the injury sustained by the Community industry.

• (134) The provisional measures should be imposed at a level sufficient to eliminate the injury caused by these imports without exceeding the dumping margin found. When calculating the amount of duty necessary to remove the effects of the injurious dumping, it was considered that any measures should allow the Community industry to cover its costs of production and obtain overall a profit before tax that could be reasonably achieved by an industry of this type in the sector under normal conditions of competition, i.e. in the absence of dumped imports, on the sales of the like product in the Community. On this basis a non-injurious price was calculated for the Community industry of the like product. The non-injurious price has been obtained provisionally by adding a profit margin of 7,2 % on turnover to the cost of production. This profit margin was provisionally established on the basis of the profit achieved during the year 2001 and is a strict minimum which the Community industry could expect to obtain in the absence of injurious dumping. This issue will be further investigated after the imposition of provisional measures and after receipt of any subsequent comments by interested parties.

• (135) The necessary price increase was then determined on the basis of a comparison of the weighted average import price, as established for the undercutting calculations, with the average non-injurious price of products sold by the Community industry on the Community market. Any difference resulting from this comparison was then expressed as a percentage of the average import CIF value.

Provisional measures

• (136) In the light of the foregoing, it is considered that a provisional anti-dumping duty should be imposed at the level of the dumping margin found, but should not, in accordance with Article 7(2) of the basic Regulation, be higher than the injury margin calculated above.

• (137) The individual company anti-dumping duty rates specified in this document were established on the basis of the findings of the present investigation. Therefore, they reflect the situation found during that investigation with respect to these companies. These duty rates (as opposed to the countrywide duty applicable to ‘all other companies’) are thus exclusively applicable to imports of products originating in the country concerned and produced by the companies and thus by the specific legal entities mentioned. Imported products produced by any other company not specifically mentioned in the operative part of this document with its name and address, including entities related to those specifically mentioned, cannot benefit from these rates and shall be subject to the duty rate applicable to ‘all other companies’.

• (138) Any claim requesting the application of these individual company anti-dumping duty rates (e.g. following a change in the name of the entity or following the setting up of new production or sales entities) should be addressed to the Commission ([^E0008]) forthwith with all relevant information, in particular any modification in the company's activities linked to production, domestic and export sales associated with, for example, that name change or that change in the production and sales entities. The Commission, if appropriate, will, after consultation of the Advisory Committee, amend the Regulation accordingly by updating the list of companies benefiting from individual duty rates.

• (139) On the basis of the above, the provisional duty rates are:

Final Provision

• (140) In the interest of sound administration, a period should be fixed within which the interested parties which made themselves known within the time limit specified in the notice of initiation may make their views known in writing and request a hearing. Furthermore, it should be stated that the findings concerning the imposition of duties made for the purposes of this Regulation are provisional and may have to be reconsidered for the purpose of any definitive duty,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Article 2

Without prejudice to Article 20 of Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96, interested parties may request disclosure of the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which this Regulation was adopted, make their views known in writing and apply to be heard orally by the Commission within 30 days of the date of entry into force of this Regulation.

Pursuant to Article 21(4) of Regulation (EC) No 384/96, the parties concerned may comment on the application of this Regulation within one month of the date of its entry into force.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on 27 April 2005.

Article 1 of this Regulation shall apply until 22 January 2006.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

[^E0001]: OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 461/2004 (OJ L 77, 13.3.2004, p. 12).

[^E0002]: OJ L 349, 31.12.1994, p. 53.

[^E0003]: OJ L 67, 10.3.1994, p. 89.

[^E0004]: OJ L 33, 5.2.2005, p. 8.

[^E0005]: See page 4 of this Official Journal.

[^E0006]: OJ C 261, 23.10.2004, p. 8.

[^E0007]: WFE is commonly defined as the weight of a fish which has been starved and bled after slaughter.

[^E0008]: European Commission, Directorate-General for Trade, Direction B, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium.

[^E0009]: OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.