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MOFCOM Announcement No. 43 of 2016 on Expiry Review Investigations of Countervailing Measures against Imports of Potato Starch Originated in the EU

On September 16, 2011, the Ministry of Commerce issued the Announcement No. 54, deciding to levy countervailing duties against imports of potato starch originated in the EU for a period of five years starting from September 17, 2011.

On July 15, 2016, the Ministry of Commerce received an application for expiry review on countervailing measures from the Potato Starch Special Committee of the China Starch Industry Association on behalf of the industry of potato starch in China. The applicants claimed, if the countervailing measures against the imports of potato starch originated in the EU was terminated, the subsidy to the imports of potato starch originated in the EU and the injury to the industry in China might continue or reoccur, and requested the Ministry of Commerce to rule and maintain the countervailing measures against imports of potato starch originated in the EU.

In accordance with relevant provisions of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Commerce has reviewed the qualifications of the applicants, relevant situations of products under investigation and similar products in China, the imports of products under investigation during the period of taking countervailing measures, the likeliness of continuance or re-occurrence of subsidy or injury, and relevant evidence. The existing evidence showed that the applicants complied with the provisions of Article 11, Article 13 and Article 17 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China on industry and industrial representativeness, thus they were qualified to file applications on behalf of the industry of potato starch in China. The Investigation Authority holds that, the claims from the applicants and the prima facie evidence provided comply with the requirements for case-filing of an expiry review.

In accordance with Article 47 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Commerce decides to initiate an expiry review against the countervailing measures applicable to the imports of potato starch originated in the EU from September 16, 2016. Relevant matters are hereby announced as follows:

I. Extension of the Countervailing Measures

According to the proposal of the Ministry of Commerce, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council made a decision to continue to levy countervailing duties on the imports of potato starch originated in the EU pursuant to the scope and rate of countervailing duty as released in Announcement No. 54 of 2011 of the Ministry of Commerce during the period of the expiry review.

II. Review Period

The review period of the subsidy investigation is from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016, and the period of industry injury investigation is from January 1, 2012 to March 31, 2016.

III. Scope of Products under Investigation in the Review

The scope of products under the review is the same as that subject to the countervailing measures announced in the Announcement No.54 of 2011 by the Ministry of Commerce.

IV. Contents of the Review

The review is to investigate the likeness of the continuation or recurrence of the subsidies and injuries in case of termination of the countervailing measures taken against the imports of potato starch originated in the EU.

The Ministry of Commerce may conduct an investigation on other items subject to subsidies which may be found in the course of the review.

V. Registration for Responding

Any interested party and the government of any interested country (region) may, within 20 days from the release of the Announcement, register with the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of MOFCOM for participating in the investigation against the expiry review, and shall, in accordance with the Reference Format for Responding to Investigation, provide the basic identity information, and illustrative materials on the volume and value of the products under investigation exported to China or importing the products under investigation of the case during the investigation period and the production and sales volume and value of the same kinds of products, as well as other relevant information. The Reference Format for Responding to Investigation is available for downloading from sub-web of Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of MOFCOM (http://trb.mofcom.gov.cn).

The interested party as referred to in the Announcement is the individual or organization specified in Article 19 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China.

VI. Access to Public Information

In the course of investigation, any interested party and the government of any interested country (region) may view the petition submitted by the applicants of the case and the contents of the public information of the case on the above-mentioned website, or go to the consultation room of trade relief public information of the Ministry of Commerce (Tel: 0086-10-65197878) to view, consult, copy and print the public information of the case.

VII. Comments on Case Filing

Any interested party and the government of any interested country (region) may submit its written comments to Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of MOFCOM within 20 days as of the date on which the Announcement is issued if it has any comment on the coverage and classification of the products under this round of investigation, qualification of the applicants, countries (regions) under investigation and other related issues.

VIII. Methods of Investigation

The Ministry of Commerce may adopt the methods of questionnaire, sampling, hearing, on-site verification or other methods to obtain information from interested parties and make investigation in accordance with Article 20 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China.

In order to obtain the information required for the investigation of the case, the Ministry of Commerce will usually distribute questionnaires to foreign exporters or producers, governments of exporting countries (regions), and domestic producers and importers that are registered within 10 working days upon expiration of the registered response specified in the Announcement. The Ministry of Commerce also publishes the questionnaire on the above-mentioned website.

Any other interested party and the government of any interested country (region) that does not register for the investigation may directly download the questionnaire from above-mentioned website or seek for the same from the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of MOFCOM and fill and submit the questionnaire as required.

All interested parties and the governments of all interested countries (regions) shall submit their answers to the Questionnaire in a complete and accurate manner within the specified period of time by the Ministry of Commerce, which shall contain all the information required by the Questionnaire.

IX. Submission and Treatment of Confidential Information

If the information submitted by any interested party or the government of any interested country (region) to the Ministry of Commerce is required to be treated as confidential, a request to keep such information confidential shall be made to the Ministry of Commerce and relevant reasons shall be stated; and a non-confidential summary of such confidential information shall be provided. Such non-confidential summary shall include sufficient and meaningful information so that other interested parties and interested countries may have a reasonable understanding of such confidential information.

X. Consequences of Non-cooperation

In accordance with Article 21 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China, when the Ministry of Commerce is making an investigation, any interested party and the government of any interested country (region) shall truthfully reflect the situation and provide relevant information. If any interested party or the government of any interested country (region) fails to do so or fails to provide necessary information within a reasonable time limit or otherwise severely impedes such investigation, the Ministry of Commerce may make a ruling based on the facts acquired.

XI. Investigation Period

The investigation shall commence on September 16, 2016 and end before September 15, 2017.

XII. Contact Information of the Ministry of Commerce

Fourth Division of Import Investigation of Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of MOFCOM
Address: No. 2 Dong Chang’an Avenue, Beijing, China
Zip code: 100731
Tel: 010-65198194 65198727
Fax: 010-65198172

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China

September 14, 2016

(All information published in this website is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only. )