COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2021/1811
of 14 October 2021
imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of calcium silicon originating in the People’s Republic of China
1.
PROCEDURE
1.1.
Initiation
1.2.
Interested parties
1.3.
Comments on initiation
1.4.
Sampling
1.4.1.
Union producers
1.4.2.
Sampling of importers
1.4.3.
Sampling of exporting producers in the PRC
1.5.
Questionnaire replies and verification visits
1.6.
Investigation period and period considered
2.
PRODUCT CONCERNED AND LIKE PRODUCT
2.1.
Product concerned
2.2.
Like product
2.3.
Claims regarding product scope
3.
DUMPING
3.1.
Procedure for the determination of the normal value under Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation
3.2.
Normal Value
3.2.1.
Existence of significant distortions
3.3.
Representative country
3.3.1.
General remarks
3.3.2.
A level of economic development similar to the PRC
3.3.3.
Availability of relevant public data in the representative country
3.3.4.
Level of social and environmental protection
3.3.5.
Conclusion
3.4.
Sources used to establish undistorted costs
3.5.
Undistorted costs and benchmarks
3.5.1.
Factors of production
Factor of Production |
Commodity Code in Brazil |
Undistorted value in CNY |
Unit of measurement |
Raw materials |
|||
Anhydrous stemming/Anhydrous cannon clay |
3816 00 11 3816 00 12 3816 00 19 3816 00 21 3816 00 29 3816 00 90 |
9,8157 |
kg |
Bituminous coal |
2701 12 00 |
0,6423 |
kg |
Coal |
2701 19 00 |
0,6423 (45) |
kg |
Coke/semi-coke |
2704 00 11 2704 00 12 2704 00 90 |
1,6856 |
kg |
Electrode paste |
3801 30 10 3801 30 90 |
5,9464 |
kg |
Graphite brick |
3801 90 00 |
46,3942 |
kg |
Limestone |
2521 00 00 |
0,0858 |
kg |
Quartzite/silica rock |
2506 20 00 |
0,2705 (46) |
kg |
Steel products (other bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel) |
7215 50 00 |
11,5350 |
kg |
Labour |
|||
Labour costs in the manufacturing sector |
[N/A] |
29,7989 |
hour |
Energy |
|||
Electricity |
[N/A] |
0,5289 |
Kwh |
By-products/waste |
|||
Slag, ash and residues |
2620 99 90 |
0,04 (47) |
kg |
Silica-calcium precipitated fine powder |
7202 99 90 |
10,22 (47) |
kg |
3.5.1.1. Raw materials and scrap/by-products
3.5.1.2. Labour
3.5.1.3. Electricity
3.5.1.4. Manufacturing overhead costs, SG&A, profits and depreciation
3.5.2.
Calculation of normal value
3.6.
Export price
3.7.
Comparison
3.8.
Dumping margins
Company |
Provisional dumping margin |
Ningxia Ketong New Material Technology Co. Ltd |
73,4 % |
Ningxia Shun Tai Smelting Co., Ltd |
132,8 % |
Shaanxi Shenghua Metallurgy-Chemical Co. Ltd |
85,9 % |
Company |
Provisional dumping margin |
Ningxia Ketong New Material Technology Co. Ltd |
73,4 % |
Ningxia Shun Tai Smelting Co., Ltd |
132,8 % |
Shaanxi Shenghua Metallurgy-Chemical Co. Ltd |
85,9 % |
All other companies |
142,3 % |
4.
INJURY
4.1.
Definition of the Union industry and Union production
4.2.
Determination of the relevant Union market
4.3.
Union consumption
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Total Union consumption |
[25 836 – 31 275 ] |
[22 248 – 26 931 ] |
[17 053 – 20 643 ] |
[12 814 – 15 512 ] |
Index |
100 |
86 |
66 |
50 |
Captive market |
[1 030 – 1 247 ] |
[1 479 – 1 790 ] |
[1 582 – 1 916 ] |
[1 059 – 1 281 ] |
Index |
100 |
144 |
154 |
103 |
Free market |
[24 806 – 30 028 ] |
[20 769 – 25 141 ] |
[15 470 – 18 727 ] |
[11 756 – 14 231 ] |
Index |
100 |
84 |
62 |
47 |
Source: Member States’ national customs data, Union producers’ questionnaire replies. |
4.4.
Imports from the PRC
4.4.1.
Volume and market share of the imports from the PRC
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Volume of imports from the PRC(56) |
[10 009 – 12 116 ] |
[10 657 – 12 900 ] |
[9 433 – 11 419 ] |
[7 789 – 9 428 ] |
Index |
100 |
106 |
94 |
78 |
Market share (%) |
38,7 |
47,9 |
55,3 |
60,8 |
Index |
100 |
124 |
143 |
157 |
Source: Member States’ customs data. |
4.4.2.
Prices of the imports from the PRC and price undercutting
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
The PRC |
1 297 |
1 377 |
1 458 |
1 232 |
Index |
100 |
106 |
112 |
95 |
Source: Member States’ national customs data. |
4.5.
Economic situation of the Union industry
4.5.1.
General remarks
4.5.2.
Production, production capacity and capacity utilisation
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Production volume (tonnes) |
[15 011 – 18 172 ] |
[14 853 – 17 980 ] |
[13 105 – 15 863 ] |
[1 313 – 1 590 ] |
Index |
100 |
99 |
87 |
9 |
Production capacity (tonnes) |
[24 634 – 29 820 ] |
[24 634 – 29 820 ] |
[24 634 – 29 820 ] |
[25 350 – 30 687 ] |
Index |
100 |
100 |
100 |
103 |
Capacity utilisation (%) |
60,9 |
60,3 |
53,2 |
5,2 |
Index |
100 |
99 |
87 |
9 |
Source: Union producers questionnaires. |
4.5.3.
Sales volume and market share
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Free market sales |
[13 036 – 15 780 ] |
[8 574 – 10 379 ] |
[5 034 – 6 094 ] |
[3 214 – 3 891 ] |
Index |
100 |
66 |
39 |
25 |
Market share of free market sales (%) |
50,5 |
38,5 |
29,5 |
25,1 |
Index |
100 |
76 |
59 |
50 |
Source: Union producers’ questionnaires. |
4.5.4.
Growth
4.5.5.
Employment and productivity
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Number of employees (FTE) |
[51 – 62 ] |
[46 – 55 ] |
[51 – 61 ] |
[14 – 16 ] |
Index |
100 |
89 |
99 |
27 |
Productivity (tonnes/FTE) |
[279 – 338 ] |
[309 – 375 ] |
[246 – 297 ] |
[92 – 111 ] |
Index |
100 |
111 |
88 |
33 |
Source: Union producers’ questionnaires. |
4.5.6.
Magnitude of the dumping margin and recovery from past dumping
4.5.7.
Prices and factors affecting prices
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Average unit sales price on the free market to unrelated customers |
[1 367 – 1 654 ] |
[1 559 – 1 887 ] |
[1 564 – 1 894 ] |
[1 435 – 1 737 ] |
Index |
100 |
114 |
114 |
105 |
Unit cost of production |
[1 213 – 1 468 ] |
[1 390 – 1 683 ] |
[1 543 – 1 868 ] |
[1 836 – 2 223 ] |
Index |
100 |
115 |
127 |
151 |
Source: Union producers’ questionnaires. |
4.5.8.
Labour costs
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Average labour costs per employee |
[55 032 – 66 618 ] |
[67 345 – 81 523 ] |
[57 342 – 69 415 ] |
[49 188 – 59 543 ] |
Index |
100 |
122 |
104 |
89 |
Source: Union producers’ questionnaires. |
4.5.9.
Inventories
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Closing stocks (tonnes) |
[1 550 – 1 877 ] |
[3 850 – 4 660 ] |
[6 604 – 7 995 ] |
[1 889 – 2 287 ] |
Index |
100 |
248 |
426 |
122 |
Closing stocks as a percentage of production (%) |
10,3 |
25,9 |
50,4 |
143,8 |
Index |
100 |
251 |
488 |
1 393 |
Source: Union producers’ questionnaires. |
4.5.10.
Profitability, cash flow, investments, return on investments and ability to raise capital
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Profitability of sales in the Union to unrelated customers (% of sales turnover) |
9,7 % to 11,7 % |
10,3 % to 12,5 % |
0,9 % to 2,7 % |
-25,2 % to -36,3 % |
Index |
100 |
106 |
16 |
- 296 |
Cash flow (EUR) |
2 680 005 to 3 244 217 |
- 834 797 to -1 010 543 |
-3 507 642 to -4 246 094 |
3 562 317 to 4 312 279 |
Index |
100 |
-31 |
- 131 |
133 |
Investments (EUR) |
[17 832 – 21 586 ] |
[559 138 – 676 851 ] |
[1 588 224 – 1 922 586 ] |
[6 509 – 7 879 ] |
Index |
100 |
3 136 |
8 907 |
36 |
Return on investments (%) |
48 to 58 |
40 to 48 |
1 to 2 |
-43 to -52 |
Index |
100 |
83 |
3 |
-89 |
Source: Union producers’ questionnaires. |
4.5.11.
Conclusion on injury
5.
CAUSATION
5.1.
Effects of the dumped imports
5.2.
Effects of other factors
5.2.1.
The fall in consumption
5.2.2.
Increases in the cost of production
5.2.3.
Purchases of calcium silicon replacing own production
5.2.4.
Production of other products replacing production of calcium silicon
5.2.5.
Imports from third countries
Country |
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Brazil |
Volume (tonnes) |
[1 130 – 1 368 ] |
[614 – 743 ] |
[1 157 – 1 401 ] |
[1 470 – 1 779 ] |
|
Index |
100 |
54 |
102 |
130 |
|
Market share (%) |
4,4 |
2,8 |
6,8 |
11,5 |
|
Average price (EUR/tonne) |
1 341 |
1 439 |
1 420 |
1 108 |
|
Index |
100 |
107 |
106 |
83 |
Thailand |
Volume (tonnes) |
[157 – 190 ] |
[545 – 660 ] |
[288 – 348 ] |
[245 – 297 ] |
|
Index |
100 |
347 |
183 |
156 |
|
Market share (%) |
0,6 |
2,5 |
1,7 |
1,9 |
|
Average price (EUR/tonne) |
1 210 |
1 313 |
1 417 |
1 112 |
|
Index |
100 |
109 |
117 |
92 |
Argentina |
Volume (tonnes) |
[1 505 – 1 822 ] |
[1 828 – 2 212 ] |
[1 123 – 1 360 ] |
[96 – 116 ] |
|
Index |
100 |
121 |
75 |
6 |
|
Market share (%) |
5,8 |
8,2 |
6,6 |
0,7 |
|
Average price (EUR/tonne) |
1 587 |
1 535 |
1 538 |
1 248 |
|
Index |
100 |
97 |
97 |
79 |
Other third countries |
Volume (tonnes) |
0 |
[29 – 36 ] |
[17 – 21 ] |
[0 – 2 ] |
|
Index |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Market share (%) |
0,0 |
0,1 |
0,1 |
0,0 |
|
Average price (EUR/tonne) |
0 |
1 554 |
2 469 |
2 254 |
|
Index |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Total of all third countries except the country concerned |
Volume (tonnes) |
[2 792 – 3 380 ] |
[3 017 – 3 652 ] |
[2 585 – 3 129 ] |
[1 812 – 2 193 ] |
|
Index |
100 |
108 |
93 |
65 |
|
Market share (%) |
10,8 |
13,6 |
15,2 |
14,1 |
|
Average price (EUR/tonne) |
1 466 |
1 476 |
1 478 |
1 117 |
|
Index |
100 |
101 |
101 |
76 |
Source: Member States customs data. |
5.2.6.
Export performance of the Union industry
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Investigation period |
Export volume (tonnes) |
[2 931 – 3 548 ] |
[2 696 – 3 264 ] |
[2 119 – 2 565 ] |
[1 581 – 1 914 ] |
Index |
100 |
92 |
72 |
54 |
Average price (EUR/tonne) |
[1 196 – 1 448 ] |
[1 490 – 1 804 ] |
[1 492 – 1 806 ] |
[1 369 – 1 657 ] |
Index |
100 |
125 |
125 |
114 |
Source: Union producer’s questionnaires. |
5.2.7.
Captive use
5.3.
Conclusion on causation
6.
LEVEL OF MEASURES
6.1.
Underselling margin
Company |
Dumping margin (%) |
Underselling margin (%) |
Ningxia Ketong New Material Technology Co. Ltd |
73,4 |
31,5 |
Ningxia Shun Tai Smelting Co., Ltd |
132,8 |
43,3 |
Shaanxi Shenghua Metallurgy-Chemical Co. Ltd |
85,9 |
32,8 |
All other companies |
142,3 |
50,6 |
6.2.
Examination of the margin adequate to remove the injury to the Union industry
6.2.1.
Raw material distortions
6.3.
Conclusion on the level of measures
Company |
Provisional anti-dumping duty |
Ningxia Ketong New Material Technology Co. Ltd |
31,5 % |
Ningxia Shun Tai Smelting Co., Ltd |
43,3 % |
Shaanxi Shenghua Metallurgy-Chemical Co. Ltd |
32,8 % |
All other companies |
50,6 % |
7.
UNION INTEREST
7.1.
Interest of the Union industry
7.2.
Interest of unrelated importers and cored wire manufacturers
7.3.
Interest of end users
7.4.
Conclusion on Union interest
8.
PROVISIONAL ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES
Country |
Company |
Provisional anti-dumping duty |
PRC |
Ningxia Ketong New Material Technology Co. Ltd |
31,5 % |
PRC |
Ningxia Shun Tai Smelting Co., Ltd |
43,3 % |
PRC |
Shaanxi Shenghua Metallurgy-Chemical Co. Ltd |
32,8 % |
PRC |
All other companies |
50,6 % |
9.
INFORMATION AT PROVISIONAL STAGE
10.
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Country |
Company |
Provisional anti-dumping duty |
TARIC additional code |
PRC |
Ningxia Ketong New Material Technology Co. Ltd, Hongguozi Industrial Zone, Huinong District, Shizuishan City, Ningxia Province |
31,5 % |
C721 |
PRC |
Ningxia Shun Tai Smelting Co., Ltd, Zhongwei Industrial Park, Zhongwei City, Ningxia Province |
43,3 % |
C722 |
PRC |
Shaanxi Shenghua Metallurgy-Chemical Co. Ltd, Yangxian Eco-Industrial Park, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province |
32,8 % |
C723 |
PRC |
All other companies |
50,6 % |
C999 |