21.2.2004 Official Journal of the European Union L 52/5 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 306/2004 of 19 February 2004 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of polyethylene terephthalate originating in Australia, the People's Republic of China and Pakistan THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Communities (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1972/2002 (3) (the basic Regulation), and in particular Article 7 thereof, After consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas: A. PROCEDURE 1. Initiation On 22 May 2003, the Commission announced, by a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union (°), the initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding with regard to imports into the Community of poly(- ethylene terephthalate) originating in Australia, the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Pakistan (countries concerned). The proceeding was initiated as a result of a complaint lodged in April 2003 by the Association of Plastic Manu- facturers in Europe (APME) (the complainant) on behalf of producers representing a major proportion, in this case more than 80 %, of the total Community produc- tion of poly(ethylene terephthalate). The complaint contained evidence of dumping of the product concerned and of material injury resulting therefrom, which was considered sufficient to justify the initiation of a proceeding. The initiation of a partial interim review concerning imports of the same product originating in the Republic of Korea and Taiwan was announced by a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union (%), on the same date. 2. Parties concerned by the proceeding The Commission officially advised the complainant, the exporting producers, importers, suppliers and users as well as user associations known to be concerned, and representatives of Australia, the PRC and Pakistan, of the opening of the proceeding. Interested parties were given an opportunity to make their views known in writing and to request a hearing within the time limit set in the notice of initiation. The complainant producers, other cooperating Com- munity producers, exporting producers, importers, suppliers, users and user associations made their views L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1. L 305, 7.11.2002, p. 1. C 120, 22.5.2003, p. 9. C 120, 22.5.2003, p. 13. known. All interested parties, who so requested and showed that there were particular reasons why they should be heard, were granted a hearing. In order to allow exporting producers in the PRC to submit a claim for market economy treatment (MET) or individual treatment (IT), if they so wished, the Commis- sion sent market economy treatment and individual treatment claim forms to the Chinese companies known to be concerned. Eight companies requested MET pursuant to Article 2(7) of the basic Regulation or indi- vidual treatment should the investigation establish that they did not meet the conditions for MET, and one company requested only IT. In the notice of initiation, the Commission indicated that sampling may be applied in this investigation. However, given the lower than expected number of exporting producers in the PRC which indicated their willingness to cooperate, it was decided that sampling was not required. The Commission sent questionnaires to all parties known to be concerned and to all the other companies that made themselves known within the deadlines set out in the notice of initiation. Replies were received from the seven Community producers included in the complaint, four other Community producers, two exporting producers in Australia, nine exporting produ- cers in the PRC, two exporting producers in Pakistan, one importer related to one Australian exporter and located in the EC, two suppliers, four unrelated impor- ters and nine unrelated users in the Community. The Commission sought and verified all the information deemed necessary for a provisional determination of dumping and resulting injury and carried out verifica- tions at the premises of the following companies: (a) Community producers — Aussapol SpA, San Giorgio Di Nogaro (UD), Italy — Brilen SA, Zaragoza, Spain — Catalana di Polimers, Barcelona, Spain — Dupont Sabanci SA, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom — INCA International, Milano, Italy — KoSa, Frankfurt am Main, Germany — M & G Finanziaria Industriale, Milano, Italy — Tergal Fibres, Gauchy, France — VPI SA, Athens, Greece — Voridian, Rotterdam, Netherlands — Wellman PET Resins, Arnhem, Netherlands;