Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/842 of 11 March 2024 re-imposing safeguard measures with regard to imports of Indica rice originating in Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma

• (120) CRF claimed that there was no coincidence in time between the evolution of imports and the deterioration of the Union industry’s situation in terms of profitability as from 2015/2016 to 2016/2017.

• (121) The Commission noted that CRF singled out one year from the period of investigation and presented it in an isolated manner, out of context. However, the assessment of serious difficulties looks into trends of several consecutive years as mandated by Article 10(1)(c) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1083/2013. Only trends and the correlation of trends over such a longer period can give a reliable picture of serious difficulties and their causes. Looking at trends over the whole period of investigation allows the investigating authority not to be misled by outliers, as the one that CRF relied on in their argument.

• (122) Furthermore, the Commission showed that by looking at the trends over the whole period of investigation, it is clear that the imports from Cambodia increased by over 50 % since the MY 2014 (see Table 2 of the Regulation) and its market share increased by nearly 5 percentage points. At the same time, all major indicators on the state of the Union industry showed significant declines (see recital (66) on production, recital (71) on capacity utilisation, recital (82) on employment and recital (75) on sales). The Commission has therefore clearly established the coincidence in time between the increase in imports from Cambodia and market shares and the deterioration of the situation of the Union industry. The claim is therefore rejected.

4.3.5.   Conclusion on causation

• (123) The Commission has established a causal link between the serious difficulties suffered by the Union industry and the imports from each country individually, therefore from Cambodia and, separately, from Myanmar/Burma. The Commission has also assessed other factors, in particular imports from other third countries, which might have contributed to these difficulties. In this respect, the Commission found that imports from third countries did not attenuate the causal link, so that there is still a genuine causal relationship between the imports of Cambodia and also from Myanmar/Burma and the serious difficulties of the Union rice millers. Consequently, the Commission found that any impact of the above-mentioned factor on the situation of the Union rice millers did not attenuate the link between the import volume, especially from Cambodia, and prices from Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma, and the serious difficulties suffered by Union rice millers.

5. DISCLOSURE

• (124) Following the final disclosure, CRF claimed that the Commission had failed to disclose all essential facts and considerations that the General Court ordered the Commission to disclose, thereby violating its rights of defence.

• (125) The Commission rejected this claim as unfounded. The Commission indeed disclosed all essential facts and considerations on the basis of which it concluded that indica rice was imported from Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma in volumes and at prices which caused serious difficulties to the Union industry and consequently safeguard measures are warranted. In particular, the Commission disclosed with a Note for the file dated 30 October 2023 all data and the methodology it used for the calculation of consumption and the injury indicators. Furthermore, following CRF’s initial comments on the Note, the Commission revised it and made it available in its revised format again at the time of the final disclosure. In addition, the Commission as requested by CRF extended the deadline for comments on the final disclosure from 3 January 2024 until 8 January 2024 thereby giving CRF five additional days for comment beyond the legally mandated fourteen calendar days. As far as undercutting calculations are concerned, as explained above in recitals (107)-(109) the Commission decided not to perform an undercutting calculation, hence there was no need for a disclosure in that respect. Therefore, the Commission considers that the right of defence of the parties was respected and the claim of CRF to the contrary is rejected.

• (126) CRF further claimed that they raised several other pleas in law in front of the General Court that were not addressed, and therefore also not rejected by the General Court, which showed further illegalities in the Commission’s original analysis. According to CRF, these unaddressed pleas by the General Court continue to vitiate the Commission’s current analysis.

• (127) The Commission rejected this claim as unsubstantiated, in particular as CRF failed to explain and substantiate how the claims it had made in front of the General Court were relevant for the investigation at hand.

• (128) In addition, since some of the CRF comments received subsequent to the final disclosure resulted in a revision of the cumulative assessment made by the Commission, on 28 January 2024 the Commission sent additional partial disclosure to CRF and made it available to all interested parties. Only CRF submitted additional comments on the additional partial disclosure that have been addressed in recitals (102)-(105).

6. FINAL CONCLUSIONS

• (129) It is concluded that Indica rice from Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma was imported in volumes and at prices which caused serious difficulties to the Union industry and consequently safeguard measures are warranted.

• (130) According to Article 22 of the GSP Regulation, the Common Customs Tariff duties of EUR 175/tonne should therefore be confirmed and should be reinstated for the period between 18 January 2019 and 18 January 2020 followed by a progressive reduction in year 2 (EUR 150/tonne) and year 3 (EUR 125/tonne).

• (131) The Commission considers that the analysis and conclusions of the present investigation fully address the errors identified by the General Court and is of the view that the application of the rules, as clarified by the General Court, warrants the re-imposition of the measures.

• (132) The Commission confirms that, as stated in the Regulation at issue, the safeguard measures should be progressively liberalised during this period. Indeed, the GSP Regulation has the prime objective to assist developing countries in their efforts to reduce poverty and to promote good governance and sustainable development, by helping them to generate in particular employment, industrialisation and additional revenue through international trade. The ‘Everything But Arms’ (EBA) special arrangement, as laid down in the GSP Regulation, helps the world’s poorest and weakest countries to take advantage of trading opportunities. These countries largely share a similar economic profile. They are vulnerable because of a low and non-diversified export base and enjoy, therefore, certain protections under the GSP Regulation such as, for example, exemption from product graduation and from the application of automatic safeguards.

• (133) Therefore, the Commission confirms that the progressive reduction in the duty rate over the period of three years, as outlined below, is warranted for EBA beneficiaries.

• (134) A progressive reduction is also sufficient to counteract the deterioration in the economic and financial situation of the Union rice millers.

• (135) Accordingly, the Commission considers it appropriate to reintroduce the following tariff duty for a period of 3 years.

• (136) Since the Commission has confirmed that the duties should remain in place as regards imports made from Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma during the period between 18 January 2019 and 18 January 2022, customs authorities should reject any repayment claim.

• (137) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Generalised Preferences Committee referred to in Article 39(3) of Regulation (EU) No 978/2012,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Article 2

No duty collected pursuant to Article 1 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/67 shall be repaid or remitted.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Brussels, 11 March 2024.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/842/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)