Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2158 of 17 October 2023 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1478 extending the definitive countervailing duty imposed by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/776, on imports of certain woven and/or stitched glass fibre fabrics originating in the People’s Republic of China and Egypt to imports of certain woven and/or stitched glass fibre fabrics consigned from Turkey, whether declared as originating in Turkey or not

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 of the European Parliament and the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union⁽¹⁾ (‘the basic Regulation’), and in particular Article 19 thereof,

Whereas:

1. MEASURES IN FORCE

(1) By Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/776⁽²⁾, the Commission imposed a definitive countervailing duty on imports of certain woven and/or stitched glass fibre fabrics from the People’s Republic of China and Egypt.

(2) Following anti-circumvention investigations, these measures were extended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1478⁽³⁾, to imports of certain woven and/or stitched glass fibre fabrics consigned from Türkiye, whether declared as originating in Türkiye or not, with the exception of those produced by Saertex Turkey Tekstil Ltd Şti, Sonmez Asf Iplik Dokuma Ve Boya San Tic A. Ş. and Telateks Tekstil Ürünleri Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi/Telateks Dış Ticaret ve Kompozit Sanayi Anonim Şirketi.

2. PROCEDURE

2.1. Initiation

(3) The Commission received a request for a partial interim review under Article 19 of the basic Regulation. The request was lodged by Fibroteks Dokuma Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS (‘the applicant’), a producer in the Türkiye, and is limited in scope to the examination of the possibility of granting an exemption to the applicant from the measures in force.

(4) Having examined the evidence submitted by the applicant and after consultation of the Member States, and after the Union industry had been given the opportunity to comment, the Commission initiated ‘ex officio’ a partial interim review on 4 July 2023 by publishing a notice of initiation in the Official Journal of the European Union⁽⁴⁾.

2.2. Product under review

(5) The product under review is fabrics of woven, and/or stitched continuous filament glass fibre rovings and/or yarns with or without other elements, excluding products which are impregnated or pre-impregnated (pre-preg), and excluding open mesh fabrics with cells with a size of more than 1,8 mm in both length and width and weighing more than 35 g/m², currently classified under CN codes ex70196100, ex70196200, ex70196300, ex70196400, ex70196500, ex70196600, ex70196910, ex70196990 and ex70199000 (TARIC codes 7019610081, 7019610084, 7019620081, 7019620084, 7019630081, 7019630084, 7019640081, 7019640084, 7019650081, 7019650084, 7019660081, 7019660084, 7019691081, 7019691084, 7019699081, 7019699084, 7019900081 and 7019900084) consigned from Türkiye, whether declared as originating in Türkiye or not (TARIC codes 7019610083, 7019620083, 7019630083, 7019640083, 7019650083, 7019660083, 7019691083, 7019699083 and 7019900083).

(6) The product under review is used to reinforce thermoplastic and thermoset resins in the composites industry.

2.3. Review investigation period

(7) The review investigation period covered the period from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2023 (‘review investigation period’).

2.4. Investigation

(8) The Commission officially advised the applicant and the representatives of the Government of Türkiye of the initiation of the review. Interested parties were invited to make their views known and were informed of the possibility to request a hearing. No such request was received.

(9) The Commission requested the applicant to complete a questionnaire in order to obtain information it deemed necessary for its investigation. The applicant submitted the questionnaire reply within the given deadline.

(10) The Commission then carried out a verification visit at the premises of the applicant in July 2023. The Commission sought to verify all information it deemed necessary for the purpose of determining whether the applicant met the necessary conditions.

3. FINDINGS

(11) The investigation confirmed that the applicant is a genuine producer of the product under review and that it was not related to any Chinese exporters or producers subject to the countervailing measures in force. The investigation further confirmed that the applicant was capable of producing the entire quantity that it has exported to the Union and that it has no commercial links with Chinese or Egyptian exporting producers regarding the production of the product under review.

(12) Accordingly, the Commission concluded that the applicant met the conditions to benefit from an exemption.

4. MODIFICATION TO THE LIST OF COMPANIES BENEFITTING FROM AN EXEMPTION TO THE EXTENDED MEASURES

(13) Given the findings referred to above, the Commission concluded that the applicant should be added to the list of companies that are exempted from the countervailing measures imposed by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1478.

(14) The applicant and the Union industry were informed of the Commission’s intention to exempt Fibroteks Dokuma Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS from the countervailing measures in force.

(15) The parties were granted the possibility to submit comments. No comments were received.

(16) The Regulation is in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 25(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: