Europa A regulation introducing an anti-dumping duty constitutes a decision of direct and individual concern, within the meaning of the second paragraph of article 173 of the EEC Treaty, to an undertaking if it is established that the objections of that undertaking, being the only manufacturer of the product in question in one member state and the leading manufacturer in the community, lay at the origin of the complaint made by an association of which it is a member which led to the opening of the investigation procedure, that the under taking’s views were heard during that procedure and that the anti-dumping duty was fixed in the light of the injury caused to it.
That undertaking is therefore entitled to put before the court any matters which would facilitate a review as to whether the commission has observed the procedural guarantees granted to complainants by regulation no 3017/79 and whether or not it has committed manifest errors in its assessment of the facts, has omitted to take any essential matters into consideration or has based the reasons for its decision on considerations amounting to a misuse of powers. In that respect, the court is required to exercise its normal powers of review over a discretion granted to a public authority, even though it has no jurisdiction to intervene in the exercise of the discretion reserved to the community authorities by the aforementioned regulation.
The aim of article 7(4)(a) of regulation no 3017/79 regarding the disclosure of information obtained by the commission during a dumping investigation is to ensure that the traders or manufacturers concerned may effectively put forward their points of view.
The expression ‘ any party to an investigation ‘ contained in that provision must therefore be interpreted as meaning not only the parties which are the subject of the investigation but also the parties whose information has been used to calculate the normal value of the relevant products, since such information is just as relevant to the defence of complainants ‘ interests as the information supplied by the undertakings carrying out the dumping. Consequently, all non-confidential information, whether supplied by a community undertaking or an undertaking in a non-member country, which has been used by the commission during its investigation and which has had a decisive influence on its decision regarding the anti-dumping duty must be made available to the complainant requesting it.
The community institutions are bound by Article 214 of the eec treaty to respect the principle of confidential treatment of information about undertakings, particularly about undertakings in non-member countries which have expressed their readiness to cooperate with the commission in dumping investigations, even if no express request for such treatment is received under Article 8 of regulation no 3017/79. That obligation, however, must be interpreted in such a way that the rights provided by Article 7(4)(a) of that regulation are not deprived of their substance.
Citations:
C-264/82, [1985] EUECJ C-264/82
Links:
European
Updated: 21 May 2022; Ref: scu.133514