Brussels, 29/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Union Council has established definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of polyester staple fibres originating in India and Korea. It has also decided, given the extent of the dumping and the gravity of the injury to the Community industry, to collect on a definitive basis the duties paid under the provisional measure in force since last July.
The regulation published in Official Journal L 332 states that the comparison between the normal value of these products and their export prices confirmed the existence of a high level of dumping, with margins ranging from 23.3 to 35.4% for India and from 0.05 to 20.2% for Korea. None of the arguments advanced by the incriminated traders within the framework of the new investigation convinced the European Commission to modify its provisional conclusions, notably concerning injury (in terms of lost jobs and market shares, in particular) and the link of cause and effect with their practices. It nevertheless lowered its evaluation of the undercutting of Community prices caused by the dumping, fixed definitively at 19.9% for India and 23.3% for Korea. The duties imposed on the exporters in question over the next five years range from 14.7 to 25.4% for India and from 4.8 to 20.2% for Korea, with the exception of one Indian producer, Reliance Industries, whose price undertaking, which was accepted by the Commission, is likely to abolish the harmful effects of dumping.