Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1159 of 13 June 2023 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of okoumé plywood 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

14.6.2023	EN	Official Journal of the European Union	L 153/3

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union ¹ (‘the basic Regulation’), and in particular Article 11(2) thereof,

Whereas:

1. PROCEDURE

1.1.   Previous investigations and measures in force

• (1) By Regulation (EC) No 1942/2004 ², the Council imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of okoumé plywood originating in the People’s Republic of China (‘the PRC’ or ‘China’ or ‘country concerned’) (‘the original measures’). The investigation that led to the imposition of the original measures will hereinafter be referred to as ‘the original investigation’.

• (2) By Regulation (EU) No 82/2011 ³, the Council prolonged the original measures following an expiry review (the ‘first expiry review’) for five years. By Regulation (EU) 2017/648 ⁴, the European Commission (‘the Commission’) prolonged the original measures for another five years following a second expiry review (the ‘second expiry review’).

• (3) The anti-dumping duties currently in force are at rates ranging between 6,5 % and 23,5 % on imports from four exporting producers and at a rate of 66,7 % on imports from all other companies.

1.2.   Request for an expiry review

• (4) Following the publication of a notice of impending expiry ⁵, the Commission received a request for a review pursuant to Article 11(2) of the basic Regulation.

• (5) The request for review was submitted on 16 December 2021 by the European Panel Federation (‘the applicant’) on behalf of the Union industry of okoumé plywood in the sense of Article 5(4) of the basic Regulation. The request for review was based on the grounds that the expiry of the measures would be likely to result in continuation and/or recurrence of dumping and recurrence of injury to the Union industry.

1.3.   Initiation of an expiry review

• (6) Having determined, after consulting the Committee established by Article 15(1) of the basic Regulation, that sufficient evidence existed for the initiation of an expiry review, on 5 April 2022 the Commission initiated an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports into the Union of okoumé plywood originating in the PRC on the basis of Article 11(2) of the basic Regulation. It published a Notice of Initiation in the Official Journal of the European Union ⁶ (‘the Notice of Initiation’).

1.4.   Review investigation period and period considered

• (7) The investigation of continuation or recurrence of dumping covered the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 (‘review investigation period’). The examination of trends relevant for the assessment of the likelihood of a continuation or recurrence of injury covered the period from 1 January 2018 to the end of the review investigation period (‘the period considered’).

1.5.   Interested parties

• (8) In the Notice of Initiation, interested parties were invited to contact the Commission in order to participate in the investigation. In addition, the Commission specifically informed the applicant, other known Union producers, the known (exporting) producers in the PRC, the PRC authorities, known importers, users, traders, as well as associations known to be concerned about the initiation of the expiry review and invited them to participate.

• (9) Interested parties had an opportunity to comment on the initiation of the expiry review and to request a hearing with the Commission and/or the Hearing Officer in trade proceedings. None of the interested parties requested a hearing.

1.6.   Sampling

• (10) In the Notice of Initiation, the Commission stated that it might sample interested parties in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

Sampling of Union producers

• (11) In the Notice of Initiation, the Commission stated that it had provisionally selected a sample of Union producers. The Commission selected the sample on the basis of the largest representative volume of production and sales, taking also into account geographical spread. This sample consisted of three Union producers. The sampled Union producers accounted for 40 % of the estimated total Union production and 41 % of the total Union industry sales volume. In accordance with Article 17(2) of the basic Regulation, the Commission invited interested parties to comment on the provisional sample. No comments were received. The sample was considered representative of the Union industry.

Sampling of importers

• (12) To decide whether sampling was necessary and, if so, to select a sample, the Commission asked unrelated importers to provide the information specified in the Notice of Initiation. No unrelated importers submitted the requested information. Consequently, the Commission decided that sampling was not necessary.

Sampling of producers in the PRC

• (13) To decide whether sampling was necessary and, if so, to select a sample, the Commission asked all known producers/exporting producers in the PRC to provide the information specified in the Notice of Initiation. In addition, the Commission asked the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to identify and/or contact other producers/exporting producers, if any, that could be interested in participating in the investigation.

• (14) No producers/exporting producers from the PRC provided the requested information within the deadline and/or agreed to be included in the sample. Therefore, there was no cooperation from the Chinese producers and the findings with regard to the imports from the PRC were made on the basis of the facts available pursuant to Article 18 of the basic Regulation. The sources used are detailed in recital (28).

1.7.   Replies to the questionnaire

• (15) The Commission sent a questionnaire concerning the existence of significant distortions in the PRC within the meaning of Article 2(6a)(b) of the basic Regulation to the Government of the People’s Republic of China (‘GOC’).

• (16) The Commission sent questionnaires to the sampled Union producers. The same questionnaires, as well as questionnaires for unrelated importers, users and Chinese exporters had also been made available online ⁷ on the day of initiation. In the course of the investigation, the Commission sent a questionnaire to the applicant requesting macroeconomic data of the Union industry.

• (17) Questionnaire replies were received from the three sampled Union producers and the applicant.

1.8.   Verification

• (18) The Commission sought and verified all the information deemed necessary for the determination of likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury and of the Union interest.

• (19) Verification visits pursuant to Article 16 of the basic Regulation were carried out at the premises of the following companies:

Union producers

• — Allin SA, Le Vanneau, France

• — F.A. Mourikis SA, Kalamaki, Greece

• — Joubert Saint Jean d’Angely SAS, Saint-Jean d’Angely, France

• — European Panel Federation (the applicant), Brussels, Belgium.

1.9.   Subsequent procedure

• (20) On 5 April 2023, the Commission disclosed the essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it intended to maintain the anti-dumping duties in force. All parties were granted a period within which they could make comments on the disclosure. No parties made any comments.

2. PRODUCT UNDER REVIEW, PRODUCT CONCERNED AND LIKE PRODUCT

2.1.   Product under review

• (21) The product under review is the same as in the original investigation and previous expiry reviews, namely okoumé plywood, defined as plywood consisting solely of sheets of wood, each ply not exceeding 6 mm thickness, with at least one outer ply of okoumé not coated by a permanent film of other materials, currently falling under CN code ex 4412 31 10 (TARIC code 4412311010) (‘the product under review’).

• (22) There are two main types of okoumé plywood, plywood made solely with okoumé (‘full okoumé’) and plywood with at least one of the outer faces made of okoumé, the rest being made of other wood (‘faced okoumé’) (the latter can also be referred to as ‘combi’ or ‘twin’). Both main types of okoumé plywood have the same external appearance. Despite differences in mechanical properties, they all share the same basic physical and technical characteristics, and are used for the same basic purposes.

• (23) Okoumé plywood is used in a wide range of applications, for example in the building industry in exterior joinery and carpentry applications for boarding, shutter boards, exterior basements and balustrades and riverside panelling. It is also used for more decorative purposes in, inter alia, road transports (e.g. cars, coaches, caravans, camping cars), maritime transport (yachts), furniture industry and doors.

2.2.   Product concerned

• (24) The product concerned by this investigation is the product under review originating in the People’s Republic of China.

2.3.   Like product

• (25) As established in the original investigation as well as in the previous expiry reviews, the following products have the same basic physical, chemical and technical characteristics as well as the same basic uses:

• — the product concerned when exported to the Union;

• — the product under review produced and sold on the domestic market of the country concerned;

• — the product under review produced and sold in the Union by the Union industry.

• (26) These products are therefore considered to be like products within the meaning of Article 1(4) of the basic Regulation.

3. DUMPING

3.1.   Preliminary remarks

• (27) During the review investigation period, imports of okoumé plywood originating in the PRC virtually disappeared from the Union market. According to Eurostat imports of okoumé plywood from the PRC accounted for about 0,04 % of the Union market. The situation was similar in the previous expiry review. In absolute terms, imports of okoumé plywood originating in the PRC amounted to 74 m³ in the review investigation period, as compared to 83 606 m³ in the original investigation, 12 620 m³ in the first expiry review and no imports in the second expiry review.

• (28) As mentioned in recital (14), none of the producers/exporting producers from the PRC cooperated in the investigation. Therefore, the Commission informed the authorities of the PRC that, due to the absence of cooperation, it might apply Article 18 of the basic Regulation concerning the findings with regard to the PRC. The Commission did not receive any comments, or requests for an intervention of the Hearing Officer, in this regard.

• (29) Consequently, in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation, the findings in relation to the likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping were based on facts available, in particular information contained in the request for review, publicly available data for a Turkish okoumé plywood producer, information provided by the applicant and the sampled Union producers, information from the Turkish national statistics office, Eurostat’s Comext database, Global Trade Atlas (‘GTA’), the International Trade Centre’s market access map, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (‘FAO’).

3.2.   Procedure for the determination of the normal value under Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation for the imports of okoumé plywood originating in the PRC

• (30) Given that sufficient evidence had been available at the initiation of the investigation tending to show, with regard to the PRC, the existence of significant distortions within the meaning of point (b) of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation, the Commission initiated the investigation on the basis of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation.

• (31) In order to obtain information it deemed necessary for its investigation with regard to the alleged significant distortions, the Commission sent a questionnaire to the GOC. In addition, in point 5.3.2 of the Notice of Initiation, the Commission invited all interested parties to make their views known, submit information and provide supporting evidence regarding the application of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation within 37 days of the date of publication of the Notice of Initiation in the Official Journal of the European Union. No questionnaire reply was received from the GOC and no submission on the application of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation was received within the deadline. Subsequently, the Commission informed the GOC that it would use facts available within the meaning of Article 18 of the basic Regulation for the determination of the existence of significant distortions in the PRC.

• (32) In point 5.3.2 of the Notice of Initiation, the Commission also specified that, in view of the evidence available, it may need to select an appropriate representative country pursuant to Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation for the purpose of determining the normal value based on undistorted prices or benchmarks. The Commission further stated that it would examine possibly appropriate countries in accordance with the criteria set out in the first indent of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation.

• (33) On 24 August 2022, the Commission issued a Note for the file on the sources for the determination of the normal value (‘Note on sources’). By the Note on sources, the Commission informed interested parties that it intended to use Türkiye as representative country, and on the relevant sources it intended to use for the determination of the normal value with Türkiye as the representative country. It also informed interested parties that it would establish selling, general and administrative costs (‘SG&A’) and profits based on available information for the company Eksioglu Orman Urunleri, a producer in Türkiye.

• (34) By the Note on sources, the Commission also invited interested parties to comment on the sources and the appropriateness of Türkiye as a representative country and also suggest other countries, provided they submitted sufficient information on the relevant criteria. No comments were received.

3.3.   Normal value

• (35) According to Article 2(1) of the basic Regulation, ‘the normal value shall normally be based on the prices paid or payable, in the ordinary course of trade, by independent customers in the exporting country’.

• (36) However, according to Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation, ‘in case it is determined […] that it is not appropriate to use domestic prices and costs in the exporting country due to the existence in that country of significant distortions within the meaning of point (b), the normal value shall be constructed exclusively on the basis of costs of production and sale reflecting undistorted prices or benchmarks’, and ‘shall include an undistorted and reasonable amount of administrative, selling and general costs and for profits’ (‘administrative, selling and general costs’ is refereed hereinafter as ‘SG&A’).

• (37) As further explained below, the Commission concluded in the present investigation that, based on the evidence available, and in view of the lack of cooperation of the GOC and the exporting producers or producers, the application of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation was appropriate.

3.3.1.   Existence of significant distortions

3.3.1.1.   Introduction

• (38) Article 2(6a)(b) of the basic Regulation stipulates that ‘significant distortions are those distortions which occur when reported prices or costs, including the costs of raw materials and energy, are not the result of free market forces as they are affected by substantial government intervention. In assessing the existence of significant distortions regard shall be had, inter alia, to the potential impact of one or more of the following elements:

• — the market in question being served to a significant extent by enterprises which operate under the ownership, control or policy supervision or guidance of the authorities of the exporting country;

• — state presence in firms allowing the state to interfere with respect to prices or costs;

• — public policies or measures discriminating in favour of domestic suppliers or otherwise influencing free market forces;

• — the lack, discriminatory application or inadequate enforcement of bankruptcy, corporate or property laws;

• — wage costs being distorted;

• — access to finance granted by institutions which implement public policy objectives or otherwise not acting independently of the state’.

• (39) As the list in Article 2(6a)(b) of the basic Regulation is non-cumulative, not all the elements need to be given regard to for a finding of significant distortions. Moreover, the same factual circumstances may be used to demonstrate the existence of one or more of the elements of the list. However, any conclusion on significant distortions within the meaning of Article 2(6a)(a) must be made on the basis of all the evidence at hand. The overall assessment on the existence of distortions may also take into account the general context and situation in the exporting country, in particular where the fundamental elements of the exporting country’s economic and administrative set-up provides the government with substantial powers to intervene in the economy in such a way that prices and costs are not the result of the free development of market forces.

• (40) Article 2(6a)(c) of the basic Regulation provides that ‘[w]here the Commission has well-founded indications of the possible existence of significant distortions as referred to in point (b) in a certain country or a certain sector in that country, and where appropriate for the effective application of this Regulation, the Commission shall produce, make public and regularly update a report describing the market circumstances referred to in point (b) in that country or sector’.

• (41) Pursuant to this provision, the Commission has issued a country report concerning the PRC (‘the Report’) ⁸, showing the existence of substantial government intervention at many levels of the economy, including specific distortions in many key factors of production (such as land, energy, capital, raw materials and labour) as well as in specific sectors (such as steel and chemicals). Interested parties were invited to rebut, comment or supplement the evidence contained in the investigation file at the time of initiation. The Report was placed in the investigation file at the initiation stage. The request also contained some relevant evidence complementing the Report.

• (42) More specifically, the request, referring to the Report, indicated that structural distortions in many Chinese industrial sectors have contributed to the overcapacity in Chinese plywood sector, including okoumé plywood. Moreover, the request pointed out that policies of GOC, such as those detailed in the 13th Five-Year Plan (‘FYP’) on Forestry, have fostered the use of wood as a raw material through State intervention. In the subsequent 14th FYP, covering the years 2021-2026, the GOC stated its intention to ‘improve the infrastructure of state-owned forest farms and forest zones’. In addition, referring back to the Report, the request noted the existence of distortions in the access to capital, chemical and labour sectors, as well as distortions in the energy markets. According to the request, those distortions are likely to have a material impact on the okoumé plywood industry. Furthermore, the request recalled that, in 2017, the US authorities imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on certain hardwood plywood imports into the USA from China following a conclusion that the GOC’s interventions through various state programs, subsidies, policy loans at preferential terms etc., directly favoured the Chinese producers and exporters of certain hardwood plywood products.

• (43) The GOC did not comment or provide evidence supporting or rebutting the existing evidence on the case file, including the Report and the additional evidence provided by the applicant, on the existence of significant distortions and/or on the appropriateness of the application of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation in the case at hand. Nor has the Commission received any comments from the Chinese exporting producers.

• (44) The Commission examined whether it was appropriate or not to use domestic prices and costs in the PRC, due to the existence of significant distortions within the meaning of point (b) of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation. The Commission did so on the basis of the evidence available on the file, including the evidence contained in the Report, which relies on publicly available sources. That analysis covered the examination of the substantial government interventions in the PRC’s economy in general, but also the specific market situation in the relevant sector including the product under review. The Commission further supplemented these evidentiary elements with its own research on the various criteria relevant to confirm the existence of significant distortions in the PRC.

3.3.1.2.   Significant distortions affecting the domestic prices and costs in the PRC

• (45) The Chinese economic system is based on the concept of a ‘socialist market economy’. That concept is enshrined in the Chinese Constitution and determines the economic governance of the PRC. The core principle is the ‘socialist public ownership of the means of production, namely, ownership by the whole people and collective ownership by the working people’. The State-owned economy is the ‘leading force of the national economy’ and the State has the mandate ‘to ensure its consolidation and growth’ ⁹. Consequently, the overall setup of the Chinese economy not only allows for substantial government interventions into the economy, but such interventions are expressly mandated. The notion of supremacy of public ownership over the private one permeates the entire legal system and is emphasized as a general principle in all central pieces of legislation. The Chinese property law is a prime example: it refers to the primary stage of socialism and entrusts the State with upholding the basic economic system under which the public ownership plays a dominant role. Other forms of ownership are tolerated, with the law permitting them to develop side by side with the State ownership ¹⁰.

• (46) In addition, under Chinese law, the socialist market economy is developed under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (‘CCP’). The structures of the Chinese State and of the CCP are intertwined at every level (legal, institutional, personal), forming a superstructure in which the roles of CCP and the State are indistinguishable. Following an amendment of the Chinese Constitution in March 2018, the leading role of the CCP was given an even greater prominence by being reaffirmed in the text of Article 1 of the Constitution. Following the already existing first sentence of the provision: ‘[t]he socialist system is the basic system of the People’s Republic of China’ a new second sentence was inserted which reads: ‘[t]he defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China’ ¹¹. This illustrates the unquestioned and ever growing control of the CCP over the economic system of the PRC. This leadership and control is inherent to the Chinese system and goes well beyond the situation customary in other countries where the governments exercise general macroeconomic control within the boundaries of which free market forces are at play.

• (47) The Chinese State engages in an interventionist economic policy in pursuance of goals, which coincide with the political agenda set by the CCP rather than reflecting the prevailing economic conditions in a free market ¹². The interventionist economic tools deployed by the Chinese authorities are manifold, including the system of industrial planning, the financial system, as well as the level of the regulatory environment.

• (48) First, on the level of overall administrative control, the direction of the Chinese economy is governed by a complex system of industrial planning which affects all economic activities within the country. The totality of these plans covers a comprehensive and complex matrix of sectors and crosscutting policies and is present on all levels of government. Plans at provincial level are detailed while national plans set broader targets. Plans also specify the means in order to support the relevant industries/sectors as well as the timeframes in which the objectives need to be achieved. Some plans still contain explicit output targets. Under the plans, individual industrial sectors and/or projects are being singled out as (positive or negative) priorities in line with the government priorities and specific development goals are attributed to them (industrial upgrade, international expansion etc.). The economic operators, private and State-owned alike, must effectively adjust their business activities according to the realities imposed by the planning system. This is not only because of the binding nature of the plans but also because the relevant Chinese authorities at all levels of government adhere to the system of plans and use their vested powers accordingly, thereby inducing the economic operators to comply with the priorities set out in the plans (see also section 3.3.1.5 below) ¹³.

• (49) Second, on the level of allocation of financial resources, the financial system of the PRC is dominated by the State-owned commercial and policy banks. Those banks, when setting up and implementing their lending policy need to align themselves with the government’s industrial policy objectives rather than primarily assessing the economic merits of a given project (see also section 3.3.1.8 below) ¹⁴. The same applies to the other components of the Chinese financial system, such as the stock markets, bond markets, private equity markets etc. Also these parts of the financial sector are institutionally and operationally set up in a manner not geared towards maximizing the efficient functioning of the financial markets but towards ensuring control and allowing intervention by the State and the CCP ¹⁵.

• (50) Third, on the level of regulatory environment, the interventions by the State into the economy take a number of forms. For instance, the public procurement rules are regularly used in pursuit of policy goals other than economic efficiency, thereby undermining market-based principles in the area. The applicable legislation specifically provides that public procurement shall be conducted in order to facilitate the achievement of goals designed by State policies. However, the nature of these goals remains undefined, thereby leaving broad margin of appreciation to the decision-making bodies ¹⁶. Similarly, in the area of investment, the GOC maintains significant control and influence over destination and magnitude of both State and private investment. Investment screening as well as various incentives, restrictions, and prohibitions related to investment are used by authorities as an important tool for supporting industrial policy goals, such as maintaining State control over key sectors or bolstering domestic industry ¹⁷.

• (51) In sum, the Chinese economic model is based on certain basic axioms, which provide for and encourage manifold government interventions. Such substantial government interventions are at odds with the free play of market forces, resulting in distorting the effective allocation of resources in line with market principles ¹⁸.

3.3.1.3.   Significant distortions according to Article 2(6a)(b), first indent of the basic Regulation: the market in question being served to a significant extent by enterprises which operate under the ownership, control or policy supervision or guidance of the authorities of the exporting country

• (52) In the PRC, enterprises operating under the ownership, control and/or policy supervision or guidance by the State represent an essential part of the economy.

• (53) While in the okoumé plywood sector, the degree of state ownership does not appear to be significant, the GOC maintains shareholding in a number of producers, such a stake exceeding 40 % in Jiangsu High Hope Arser Co., Ltd. ¹⁹ Beyond formal ownership, state authorities can control and supervise companies through informal channels, as illustrated by the privately owned Luli Group which, according to public sources, has been ‘cultivated’ by the Shandong province government ²⁰. In addition, given that CCP interventions into operational decision making have become the norm also in private companies ²¹ (see also section 3.3.1.4 below), with CCP claiming leadership over virtually every aspect of the country’s economy, the influence of the State by means of CCP structures within companies effectively results in economic operators being under control and policy supervision of the government, given how far the State and Party structures have grown together in the PRC.

• (54) This is apparent also at the level of the China National Forest Product Industry Association (‘CNFPIA’) the sectoral industry association. According to Art. 4 of CNFPIA’s Articles of Association, the organisation ‘accepts the professional guidance, supervision and management of […] the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ ²².

• (55) Consequently, even privately owned producers in the sector of the product under review are prevented from operating under market conditions. Indeed, both public and privately owned enterprises in the sector are subject to policy supervision and guidance as also set out in section 3.3.1.5 below.

3.3.1.4.   Significant distortions according to Article 2(6a)(b), second indent of the basic Regulation: State presence in firms allowing the state to interfere with respect to prices or costs

• (56) Apart from exercising control over the economy by means of ownership of State Owned Enterprise‘(‘SOEs’) and other tools, the GOC is in position to interfere with prices and costs through State presence in firms. While the right to appoint and to remove key management personnel in SOEs by the relevant State authorities, as provided for in the Chinese legislation, can be considered to reflect the corresponding ownership rights ²³, CCP cells in enterprises, State-owned and private alike, represent another important channel through which the State can interfere with business decisions. According to the PRC’s company law, a CCP organisation is to be established in every company (with at least three CCP members as specified in the CCP Constitution ²⁴) and the company shall provide the necessary conditions for the activities of the party organisation. In the past, this requirement appears not to have always been followed or strictly enforced. However, since at least 2016 the CCP has been reinforcing its claims to control business decisions in companies as a matter of political principle ²⁵, including exercising pressure on private companies to put ‘patriotism’ first and to follow party discipline ²⁶. In 2017, it was reported that party cells existed in 70 % of some 1,86 million privately owned companies, with growing pressure for the CCP organisations to have a final say over the business decisions within their respective companies ²⁷. These rules are of general application throughout the Chinese economy, across all sectors, including to the producers of the product under review and the suppliers of their inputs.

• (57) In addition, on 15 September 2020 a document titled General Office of CCP Central Committee’s Guidelines on stepping up the United Front work in the private sector for the new era (‘the Guidelines’) ²⁸ was released, which further expanded the role of the party committees in private enterprises. Section II.4 of the Guidelines state: ‘[w]e must raise the Party’s overall capacity to lead private-sector United Front work and effectively step up the work in this area’; and section III.6 states: ‘[w]e must further step up Party building in private enterprises and enable the Party cells to play their role effectively as a fortress and enable Party members to play their parts as vanguards and pioneers.’ The Guidelines thus emphasise and seeks to increase the role of the CCP in companies and other private sector entities ²⁹.

• (58) The investigation has confirmed that overlaps between managerial positions and CCP membership/Party functions are commonplace in the plywood sector. For example, the general manager of Jiangsu High Hope Arser Co., Ltd. holds in parallel the position of the Party branch secretary while the chairman of the mother company Jiangsu High Hope Group serves also as the Group’s Party committee secretary ³⁰.

• (59) The State’s presence and intervention in the financial markets (see also section 3.3.1.8 below) as well as in the provision of raw materials and inputs further have an additional distorting effect on the market ³¹. Thus, the State presence in firms, in the okoumé plywood and other sectors (such as the financial and input sectors) allow the GOC to interfere with respect to prices and costs.

3.3.1.5.   Significant distortions according to Article 2(6a)(b), third indent of the basic Regulation: public policies or measures discriminating in favour of domestic suppliers or otherwise influencing free market forces

• (60) The direction of the Chinese economy is to a significant degree determined by an elaborate system of planning which sets out priorities and prescribes the goals the central and local governments must focus on. Relevant plans exist on all levels of government and cover virtually all economic sectors. The objectives set by the planning instruments are of binding nature and the authorities at each administrative level monitor the implementation of the plans by the corresponding lower level of government. Overall, the system of planning in the PRC results in resources being driven to sectors designated as strategic or otherwise politically important by the government, rather than being allocated in line with market forces ³².

• (61) The Chinese authorities have enacted a number of policies guiding the functioning of the sector of the product under review. To start with, wooden panels related technologies are listed among the encouraged industries in the Guiding Catalogue for industry structural adjustment 2019 ³³, which signals the authorities’ intentions to create a regulatory environment conducive to the sector’s development and which also potentially paves way to the industry’s access to finance. Moreover, the 14th FYP on the Development of the Forest and Grass Industry ³⁴, not only invites the authorities to ‘promote the comprehensive green transformation of the wood processing industry’ or to ‘consolidate and upgrade traditional advantageous industries such as wooden flooring, wooden furniture, wooden doors, […] and accelerate the development of customized furniture, wooden structures and wooden building materials’, it also sets specific output targets: ‘[b]y 2025, the output of man-made panels will be stabilized at about 300 million cubic meters, the output of flooring will be stabilized at about 800 million square meters, and the output value of wooden furniture will exceed RMB 800 billion’ ³⁵. In addition, the Guiding Opinion on fostering the high quality development of forestry and grass industry, published by the National Administration for Forestry and Grassland in February 2019 ³⁶, quantifies further parameters of the sector’s planned development: ‘By 2025, the institutional mechanism for the rational utilization of forest and grass resources will be basically formed, the supporting capacity of forest and grass resources will be significantly enhanced, the output volume of high-quality forest and grass products will be significantly increased, and the trade in forest products will be further expanded, and the total output value of forestry at national level shall eventually increase by more than 50 % on the basis of the current situation, the output of economic forest products that are important for the economy shall reach 250 million tons, and the import and export trade volume of forest products shall reach 240 USD billion’ ³⁷. Through these and other means, the GOC therefore directs and controls virtually every aspect in the development and functioning of the sector.

• (62) In sum, the GOC has measures in place to induce operators to comply with the public policy objectives concerning the sector of the okoumé plywood. Such measures impede market forces from operating freely.

3.3.1.6.   Significant distortions according to Article 2(6a)(b), fourth indent of the basic Regulation: the lack, discriminatory application or inadequate enforcement of bankruptcy, corporate or property laws

• (63) According to the information on file, the Chinese bankruptcy system delivers inadequately on its own main objectives such as to fairly settle claims and debts and to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of creditors and debtors. This appears to be rooted in the fact that while the Chinese bankruptcy law formally rests on principles that are similar to those applied in corresponding laws in countries other than the PRC, the Chinese system is characterised by systematic under-enforcement. The number of bankruptcies remains notoriously low in relation to the size of the country’s economy, not least because the insolvency proceedings suffer from a number of shortcomings, which effectively function as a disincentive for bankruptcy filings. Moreover, the role of the State in the insolvency proceedings remains strong and active, often having direct influence on the outcome of the proceedings ³⁸.

• (64) In addition, the shortcomings of the system of property rights are particularly obvious in relation to ownership of land and land-use rights in the PRC ³⁹. All land is owned by the State (collectively owned rural land and State-owned urban land) and its allocation remains solely dependent on the State. There are legal provisions that aim at allocating land use rights in a transparent manner and at market prices, for instance by introducing bidding procedures. However, these provisions are regularly not respected, with certain buyers obtaining their land for free or below market rates ⁴⁰. Moreover, authorities often pursue specific political goals including the implementation of the economic plans when allocating land ⁴¹.

• (65) Much like other sectors in the Chinese economy, the producers of the product under review are subject to the ordinary rules on Chinese bankruptcy, corporate, and property laws. That has the effect that these companies, too, are subject to the top-down distortions arising from the discriminatory application or inadequate enforcement of bankruptcy and property laws. Those considerations, on the basis of the evidence available, appear to be fully applicable also in the forestry and wood production sector. The present investigation revealed nothing that would call those findings into question.

• (66) In light of the above, the Commission concluded that there was discriminatory application or inadequate enforcement of bankruptcy and property laws in the sector of the product under review.

3.3.1.7.   Significant distortions according to Article 2(6a)(b), fifth indent of the basic Regulation: wage costs being distorted

• (67) A system of market-based wages cannot fully develop in the PRC as workers and employers are impeded in their rights to collective organisation. The PRC has not ratified a number of essential conventions of the International Labour Organisation (‘ILO’), in particular those on freedom of association and on collective bargaining ⁴². Under national law, only one trade union organisation is active. However, this organisation lacks independence from the State authorities and its engagement in collective bargaining and protection of workers’ rights remains rudimentary ⁴³. Moreover, the mobility of the Chinese workforce is restricted by the household registration system, which limits access to the full range of social security and other benefits to local residents of a given administrative area. This typically results in workers who are not in possession of the local residence registration finding themselves in a vulnerable employment position and receiving lower income than the holders of the residence registration ⁴⁴. Those findings lead to the distortion of wage costs in the PRC.

• (68) No evidence was submitted to the effect that the okoumé plywood sector would not be subject to the Chinese labour law system described. The sector is thus affected by the distortions of wage costs both directly (when making the product concerned or the main raw material for its production) as well as indirectly (when having access to capital or inputs from companies subject to the same labour system in the PRC).

3.3.1.8.   Significant distortions according to Article 2(6a)(b), sixth indent of the basic Regulation: access to finance granted by institutions which implement public policy objectives or otherwise not acting independently of the State

• (69) Access to capital for corporate actors in the PRC is subject to various distortions.

• (70) Firstly, the Chinese financial system is characterised by the strong position of State-owned banks ⁴⁵, which, when granting access to finance, take into consideration criteria other than the economic viability of a project. Similarly to non-financial SOEs, the banks remain connected to the State not only through ownership but also via personal relations (the top executives of large State-owned financial institutions are ultimately appointed by the CCP) ⁴⁶ and, again just like non-financial SOEs, the banks regularly implement public policies designed by the GOC. In doing so, the banks comply with an explicit legal obligation to conduct their business in accordance with the needs of the national economic and social development and under the guidance of the industrial policies of the State ⁴⁷. This is compounded by additional existing rules, which direct finances into sectors designated by the government as encouraged or otherwise important ⁴⁸.

• (71) While it is acknowledged that various legal provisions refer to the need to respect normal banking behaviour and prudential rules such as the need to examine the creditworthiness of the borrower, the overwhelming evidence, including findings made in trade defence investigations, suggests that these provisions play only a secondary role in the application of the various legal instruments.

• (72) For example, the GOC has clarified that even private commercial banking decisions must be overseen by the CCP and remain in line with national policies. One of the State’s three overarching goals in relation to banking governance is now to strengthen the Party’s leadership in the banking and insurance sector, including in relation to operational and management issues ⁴⁹. Also, the performance evaluation criteria of commercial banks have now to, notably, take into account how entities ‘serve the national development objectives and the real economy’, and in particular how they ‘serve strategic and emerging industries’ ⁵⁰.

• (73) Furthermore, bond and credit ratings are often distorted for a variety of reasons including the fact that the risk assessment is influenced by the firm’s strategic importance to the GOC and the strength of any implicit guarantee by the government. Estimates strongly suggest that Chinese credit ratings systematically correspond to lower international ratings ⁵¹.

• (74) This is compounded by additional existing rules, which direct finances into sectors designated by the government as encouraged or otherwise important ⁵². This results in a bias in favour of lending to SOEs, large well-connected private firms and firms in key industrial sectors, which implies that the availability and cost of capital is not equal for all players on the market.

• (75) Secondly, borrowing costs have been kept artificially low to stimulate investment growth. This has led to the excessive use of capital investment with ever lower returns on investment. This is illustrated by the growth in corporate leverage in the State sector despite a sharp fall in profitability, which suggests that the mechanisms at work in the banking system do not follow normal commercial responses.

• (76) Thirdly, although nominal interest rate liberalization was achieved in October 2015, price signals are still not the result of free market forces, but are influenced by government-induced distortions. The share of lending at or below the benchmark rate still represented at least one-third of all lending as of the end of 2018 ⁵³. Official media in the PRC have recently reported that the CCP called for ‘guiding the loan market interest rate downwards’ ⁵⁴. Artificially low interest rates result in under-pricing, and consequently, the excessive utilization of capital.

• (77) Overall credit growth in the PRC indicates a worsening efficiency of capital allocation without any signs of credit tightening that would be expected in an undistorted market environment. As a result, non-performing loans have increased rapidly, with the GOC a number of times opting to either avoid defaults, thus creating so called ‘zombie’ companies, or to transfer the ownership of the debt (e.g. via mergers or debt-to-equity swaps), without necessarily removing the overall debt problem or addressing its root causes.

• (78) In essence, despite the steps that have been taken to liberalize the market, the corporate credit system in the PRC is affected by significant distortions resulting from the continuing pervasive role of the state in the capital markets. Therefore, the substantial government intervention in the financial system leads to the market conditions being severely affected at all levels.

• (79) No evidence was submitted in the present investigation demonstrating that the sector of the product under review is not affected by the government intervention in the financial system in the sense of Article 2(6a)(b), sixth indent of the basic Regulation. Therefore, the substantial government intervention in the financial system leads to the market conditions being severely affected at all levels.

3.3.1.9.   Systemic nature of the distortions described

• (80) The Commission noted that the distortions described in the Report are characteristic for the Chinese economy. The evidence available shows that the facts and features of the Chinese system as described above in Sections 3.3.1.2 to 3.3.1.5 as well as in Part I of the Report apply throughout the country and across the sectors of the economy. The same holds true for the description of the factors of production as set out above in Sections 3.3.1.6 to 3.3.1.8 and in Part II of the Report.

• (81) The Commission recalls that in order to produce the product under review, certain inputs are needed. When the producers of okoumé plywood purchase/contract these inputs, the prices they pay (and which are recorded as their costs) are clearly exposed to the same systemic distortions mentioned before. For instance, suppliers of inputs employ labour that is subject to the distortions. They may borrow money that is subject to the distortions on the financial sector/capital allocation. In addition, they are subject to the planning system that applies across all levels of government and sectors.

• (82) As a consequence, not only the domestic sales prices of the product under review are not appropriate for use within the meaning of Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation, but all the input costs (including raw materials, energy, land, financing, labour, etc.) are also affected because their price formation is affected by substantial government intervention, as described in Parts I and II of the Report. Indeed, the government interventions described in relation to the allocation of capital, land, labour, energy and raw materials are present throughout the PRC. This means, for instance, that an input that in itself was produced in the PRC by combining a range of factors of production is exposed to significant distortions. The same applies for the input to the input and so forth. No evidence or argument to the contrary has been adduced by the GOC or the exporting producers in the present investigation.

3.3.1.10.   Conclusion

• (83) The analysis set out in sections 3.3.1.2 to 3.3.1.9, which includes an examination of all the available evidence relating to the PRC’s intervention in its economy in general as well as in the sector of the product under review showed that prices or costs of the product under review, including the costs of raw materials, energy and labour, are not the result of free market forces because they are affected by substantial government intervention within the meaning of Article 2(6a)(b) of the basic Regulation as shown by the actual or potential impact of one or more of the relevant elements listed therein. On that basis, and in the absence of any cooperation from the GOC, the Commission concluded that it is not appropriate to use domestic prices and costs to establish normal value in this case.

• (84) Consequently, the Commission proceeded to construct the normal value exclusively on the basis of costs of production and sale reflecting undistorted prices or benchmarks, that is, in this case, on the basis of corresponding costs of production and sale in an appropriate representative country, in accordance with Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation, as discussed in the following section.

3.3.2.   Representative country

• (85) The choice of the representative country was based on the following criteria pursuant to Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation:

• — A level of economic development similar to the PRC. For this purpose, the Commission used countries with a gross national income per capita similar to the PRC on the basis of the database of the World Bank ⁵⁵;

• — Production of the product under review in that country ⁵⁶;

• — Availability of relevant public data in the representative country.

• — Where there is more than one possible representative country, preference should be given, where appropriate, to the country with an adequate level of social and environmental protection.

• (86) As explained in recital (32), the Commission issued a Note on sources that described the facts and evidence underlying the relevant criteria, and informed interested parties of its intention to use Türkiye as an appropriate representative country in the present case if the existence of significant distortions pursuant to Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation would be confirmed.

• (87) In the Note on sources, the Commission explained that, due to the absence of cooperation, it would need to rely on facts available according to Article 18 of the basic Regulation. The choice of representative country was based on the information contained in the expiry review request, combined with other sources of information deemed appropriate according to the relevant criteria laid down in Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation in accordance with Article 18(5) of the basic Regulation.

• (88) Regarding the level of economic development, in the expiry review request, the applicant examined five countries as potential representative countries that had a similar level of economic development to the PRC. The countries examined were Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia and Türkiye ⁵⁷.

• (89) Regarding production of the product under review, only Türkiye and Indonesia were identified as okoumé plywood producing countries in the request ⁵⁸.

• (90) Regarding the availability of relevant public data in the representative country, in its request for review the applicant identified three companies producing veneer wood products, including the product under review, in Türkiye, and none in Indonesia ⁵⁹. As explained in the Note on sources, the Commission’s analysis concluded that two of the Turkish companies did not have sufficiently up to date available financial data. The third company had available data for 2020 but it was unclear if they produced the product under review. The Commission however identified a company in Türkiye, Eksioglu Orman Urunleri that produced the product under review and had available financial data for 2020. Therefore, Türkiye fulfilled the criteria of availability of relevant public data.

• (91) Having established that Türkiye was the only available appropriate representative country based on all of the above elements, there was no need to carry out an assessment of the level of social and environmental protection in accordance with the last sentence of Article 2(6a)(a) first indent of the basic Regulation.

• (92) In the Note on sources, interested parties were invited to comment on the appropriateness of Türkiye as a representative country and also suggest other countries, provided they submitted sufficient information on the relevant criteria. No comments were received.

• (93) In view of the above analysis, Türkiye met the criteria laid down in Article 2(6a)(a), first indent of the basic Regulation in order to be considered as an appropriate representative country.

3.3.3.   Sources used to establish undistorted costs

• (94) In the Note on sources, the Commission listed the factors of production such as materials, energy and labour used in the production of the product under review by the exporting producers. The Commission also stated in the Note on sources that, in order to construct the normal value in accordance with Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation, it would use GTA to establish the undistorted cost of most of the factors of production, notably the main raw materials.

• (95) The Commission informed interested parties that it would group items with negligible weight in the cost of production, such as other raw materials, packaging costs, utilities and consumables and express them as a percentage of the main raw materials. Further, the Commission announced that it would apply this percentage to the recalculated cost of raw materials when using the undistorted benchmarks in the appropriate representative country.

• (96) In addition, the Commission stated that it would use information from the Turkish Statistical Institute (‘TURKSTAT’) for establishing the undistorted costs of electricity and labour.

• (97) The Commission included a value for manufacturing overhead costs in order to cover the costs not included in the factors of production referred to above. The Commission established the ratio of manufacturing overheads to manufacturing costs based on the information provided in the request for review and on verified data of a Union producer, Joubert Plywood that provided specific information for that purpose. The methodology is duly explained in section 3.3.5 below.

• (98) Finally, the Commission stated that to establish SG&A and profit, it would use the financial data from the Turkish producer of the product under review as set out in recital (32) above.

• (99) The Commission did not receive any comments from interested parties concerning the list of factors of production in the Note on sources.

3.3.4.   Undistorted costs and benchmarks

• (100) Considering all the information based on the request for review and subsequent information submitted by the applicant and verified on spot and in the absence of cooperation by Chinese exporting producers or any comments on the Note on sources, the following factors of production and their sources have been identified in order to determine the normal value in accordance with Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation:

Table 1

Factors of production of okoumé plywood

Factors of Production	HS Codes	Source of data	Unit of measurement	Undistorted value (RMB)
Raw Materials	Raw Materials	Raw Materials	Raw Materials	Raw Materials
Sheets of veneer	4408 39	Global Trade Atlas (GTA)60	M3	6 507,69
Poplar logs	4403 97	GTA	M3	2 615,34
Phenolic Glue	3909 40	GTA	KG	16,45
All other raw materials, packaging, utilities, consumables.	N/A		Fixed amount	[1 -5 ] % of raw materials
Energy/Utilities	Energy/Utilities	Energy/Utilities	Energy/Utilities	Energy/Utilities
Electricity	N/A	Turkish Statistical Institute. (TURKSTAT)61	kWh	0,59
Labour	Labour	Labour	Labour	Labour
Labour	N/A	TURKSTAT62	hours	16,28

3.3.4.1.   Raw materials

• (101) In order to establish the undistorted price of the main raw materials as delivered at the gate of a representative country producer, the Commission used as a basis the weighted average import price to the representative country as reported in the GTA to which import duties and transport costs were added. An import price in the representative country was determined as a weighted average of unit prices of imports from all third countries excluding the PRC and countries which are not members of the WTO, listed in Annex 1 of Regulation (EU) 2015/755 of the European Parliament and the Council ⁶³.

• (102) The Commission decided to exclude imports from the PRC into the representative country as it concluded in section 3.3.1 that it is not appropriate to use domestic prices and costs in the PRC due to the existence of significant distortions in accordance with Article 2(6a)(b) of the basic Regulation. Given that there is no evidence showing that the same distortions do not equally affect products intended for export, the Commission considered that the same distortions affected export prices. After excluding imports from the PRC into the representative country, the volume of imports from other third countries remained representative.

• (103) For a number of factors of production, the actual costs represented a negligible share of total raw material costs in the review investigation period. As the value used for these had no appreciable impact on the dumping margin calculations, regardless of the source used, the Commission decided to include those costs into consumables and further group them with other raw materials, packaging costs and utilities and express them as a percentage of the main raw materials as explained in recital (94). Given the lack of cooperation by Chinese exporting producers, the Commission established this percentage based on the data provided in the request of review, that were subsequently verified based on the data of one of the Union producers that cooperated in the investigation and that provided specific information for that purpose ⁶⁴, i.e. Joubert Plywood.

• (104) In order to establish the undistorted price of raw materials, delivered at the gate of the producer’s factory, the Commission applied the import duty of the representative country, at the respective levels, depending on the country of origin of the imported volumes ⁶⁵. The Commission added domestic transport cost calculated per m³ on the basis of the information contained in the email exchanges between the European Panel Federation and a leading wood-based panels producer in Türkiye ⁶⁶.

3.3.4.2.   Labour

• (105) TURKSTAT publishes detailed information on monthly average labour cost ⁶⁷ and components by economic activity in Türkiye. The Commission used the latest available statistics (2020) for calculating an hourly rate.

3.3.4.3.   Electricity

• (106) The price of electricity for companies (industrial users) in Türkiye is published by TURKSTAT. The Commission used the data on the industrial electricity prices in the corresponding consumption band in kWh as published on 31 March 2022 (covering the review investigation period) ⁶⁸ to calculate an average electricity cost.

3.3.4.4.   Manufacturing overhead costs, SG&A, and profits

• (107) According to Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation, ‘the constructed normal value shall include an undistorted and reasonable amount for administrative, selling and general costs and for profits’. In addition, a value for manufacturing overhead costs needs to be established to cover costs not included in the factors of production referred to above.

• (108) Given the absence of cooperation from the exporting producers, the Commission calculated manufacturing overhead costs based on the ratio of manufacturing overhead divided by the cost of manufacturing reported by Joubert Plywood. This percentage was then applied to the undistorted value of the cost of manufacturing to obtain the undistorted value of manufacturing overheads.

• (109) For SG&A and profit, the Commission used the financial data of the Turkish producer mentioned in recital (32).

3.3.5.   Calculation of the normal value

• (110) On the basis of the above, the Commission constructed the normal value per product type (namely full okoumé and faced okoumé as explained in recital (21)) on an ex-works basis in accordance with Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation.

• (111) According to the information in the expiry review request, subsequently verified based on the data of one of the Union producers that cooperated in the investigation and that provided specific information for that purpose, full okoumé is produced using only sheets of veneer, while faced okoumé is produced using both sheets of veneer and poplar logs. Therefore, the undistorted value for poplar logs was used, together with all other raw materials, to construct normal value for faced okoumé, while it was not used to construct normal value for full okoumé. The methodology, explained in the following recitals, is the same in both cases.

• (112) First, the Commission established the undistorted direct costs. In the absence of cooperation by the exporting producers, the Commission relied on the information ⁶⁹ provided by Joubert Plywood, which was verified on-spot, on the consumption of each factor (raw materials, labour and electricity) for the production of okoumé plywood. The Commission multiplied the consumption volumes by the undistorted costs per unit observed in Türkiye, as described in Section 3.3.4.1. A number of factors of production that represented a negligible share of total raw material costs in the review investigation period were expressed as a percentage of the main raw materials as explained in recital (94). The commission applied that percentage to the undistorted cost of the main raw materials to arrive at an undistorted value.

• (113) Once the undistorted manufacturing cost was established, the Commission added the manufacturing overheads, SG&A and profit as established in recitals (107) and (108) to the undistorted costs of manufacturing. Concretely:

• — Manufacturing overheads, which accounted in total for [5-12] % of the manufacturing cost,

• — SG&A, which accounted for 4,06 % of the Costs of Goods Sold (‘COGS’), and

• — Profits, which amounted to 13,77 % of the COGS, were applied to the total undistorted costs of manufacturing.

• (114) On that basis, the Commission constructed the normal value per product type, as explained in recital (110), on an ex-works basis in accordance with Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation.

3.4.   Export price

• (115) In the absence of cooperation by the Chinese exporting producers, the export price was determined based on Eurostat import data, at a cost, insurance and freight (‘CIF’) level. This CIF price, 619 € per m³, was reduced by the sea freight and insurance costs and domestic transport cost in China to arrive at the export price at ex-works level. The amounts deduced were based on the information contained in the expiry review request ⁷⁰.

3.5.   Comparison and dumping margin

• (116) In the absence of cooperation by Chinese exporting producers, the Commission had no information on the product type exported. The Commission therefore compared the normal values established in accordance with Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation, i.e. for full okoumé and faced okoumé, with the export price on an ex-works basis as established above.

• (117) On that basis, the dumping margin for imports from China, expressed as a percentage of the CIF Union frontier price, duty unpaid, was above 100 %, regardless of the normal value used.

• (118) However, the volume of imports in question was negligible, corresponding to 0,2 % of the total imports into the Union and representing 0,04 % market share in the Union market. In the absence of cooperation, the Commission had no information on the product type. Also, these imports consisted of only one transaction, putting a question mark on its representativity. For these reasons, the Commission concluded that these low volumes did not provide a sufficient basis for a continuation of dumping analysis. Therefore, the Commission investigated the likelihood of recurrence of dumping.

4. LIKELIHOOD OF RECURRENCE OF DUMPING

• (119) The Commission investigated, in accordance with Article 11(2) of the basic Regulation, the likelihood of recurrence of dumping should the measures be allowed to lapse. The following additional elements were analysed: the possible dumping levels in the Union market shall the measures be allowed to lapse; comparison of normal value established in this expiry review as explained in section 3.3.5 with prices of exports from China based on the commercial offers for exports to the Union and third countries provided in the expiry review request; the production capacity and spare capacity in PRC and the attractiveness of the Union market.

4.1.   Likely dumping levels in the Union market shall the measures be allowed to lapse

• (120) To determine the likely level of export prices to the Union should the measures be allowed to lapse, and given the absence of cooperation of Chinese producers, the Commission based the export price on facts available, in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation, i.e. on information in the expiry review request. Specifically, the export price for both main product types described in recital (21) was established based on 64 commercial offers to the Union market and 26 commercial offers to other third countries (the Middle East, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom) made by email during the review investigation period, as contained in the expiry review request.