ANNEX VIII

For the purpose of the Articles 2 to 10 of this Annex relating to surveillance and safeguard measures: ‘like product’ means a product which is identical, namely alike in all respects, to the product under consideration, or, in the absence of such a product, another product which, although not alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the product under consideration; ‘interested parties’ means those parties involved in the production, distribution and/or sale of the imports mentioned in Article 2(1) of this Annex and of like or directly competing products; ‘serious difficulties’ shall exist where Union producers suffer deterioration in their economic and/or financial situation. 1. Where a product originating in an OCTs referred to in Article 43 of this Decision is imported in volumes and/or at prices which cause, or threaten to cause, serious difficulties to Union producers of like or directly competing products, the necessary safeguard measures may be taken in accordance with the provisions below. 2. For the purpose of implementing paragraph 1, priority shall be given to such measures as would least disturb the functioning of the Association. These measures shall not exceed the limits of what is strictly necessary to remedy the difficulties that have arisen. They cannot exceed the withdrawal of the preferential treatment granted by this Decision. 3. When safeguard measures are taken or modified, particular attention shall be paid to the interests of the OCTs involved. 1. The Commission shall investigate whether safeguard measures should be taken if there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the conditions of Article 2 of this Annex are met. 2. An investigation shall be initiated upon request by a Member State, by any legal person or any association not having legal personality, acting on behalf of Union producers, or on the Commission’s own initiative if it is apparent to the Commission that there is sufficient prima facie evidence, as determined on the basis of factors referred to in Article 2 of this Annex, to justify such initiation. The request to initiate an investigation shall contain evidence that the conditions for imposing the safeguard measure set out in Article 2 of this Annex are met. The request shall be submitted to the Commission. The Commission shall, as far as possible, examine the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence provided in the request to determine whether there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation. 3. Where it is apparent that there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify the initiation of a proceeding, the Commission shall publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Initiation shall take place within one month of the request received pursuant to paragraph 2. Should an investigation be initiated, the notice shall provide all necessary details about the procedure and deadlines, including the possibility of recourse to the Hearing Officer of the Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission. 4. The rules and procedures concerning the conduct of the investigation are laid down in Article 4 of this Annex. 5. If the OCTs authorities so require and without prejudice to the deadlines referred to in this Article, a trilateral consultation referred to in Article 14 of this Decision shall be organised. The outcome of the trilateral consultation shall be transmitted to the consultative committee. 1. Following the initiation of the proceeding, the Commission shall commence an investigation. The period as set out in paragraph 3 shall start on the day the decision to initiate the investigation is published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 2. The Commission may request Member States to supply information and Member States shall take whatever steps are necessary in order to give effect to any such request. If that information is of general interest and is not confidential within the meaning of Article 9 of this Annex, it shall be added to the non-confidential files as provided for in paragraph 8. 3. The investigation shall be concluded within 12 months of its initiation. 4. The Commission shall seek all information it considers necessary to make a determination with regard to the conditions set out in Article 2 of this Annex, and, where it considers it appropriate, endeavour to verify that information. 5. In the investigation the Commission shall evaluate all relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing on the situation of the Union industry, in particular, the market share, changes in the level of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilisation, profits and losses, and employment. This list is not exhaustive and other relevant factors may also be taken into consideration by the Commission. 6. Interested parties who have come forward within the period laid down in the notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union and representatives of the OCTs concerned may, upon written request, inspect all information made available to the Commission in connection with the investigation other than internal documents prepared by the Union authorities or those of the Member States, provided that that information is relevant to the presentation of their case and not confidential within the meaning of Article 9 of this Annex and that it is used by the Commission in the investigation. Interested parties who have come forward may communicate their views on the information to the Commission. Those views shall be taken into consideration where they are backed by sufficient prima facie evidence. 7. The Commission shall ensure that all data and statistics which are used for the investigation are available, comprehensible, transparent and verifiable. 8. The Commission shall hear the interested parties, in particular where they have made a written application within the period laid down in the notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union, showing that they are actually likely to be affected by the outcome of the investigation and that there are special reasons for them to be heard orally. The Commission shall hear such parties on further occasions if there are special reasons for them to be heard again. 9. When information is not supplied within the time limits set by the Commission, or the investigation is significantly impeded, findings may be made on the basis of the facts available. Where the Commission finds that any interested party or third party has supplied it with false or misleading information, it shall disregard that information and may make use of the facts available. 10. The Commission shall notify the OCTs concerned in writing of the initiation of an investigation. 1. The products originating in the OCTs referred to in Article 43 of this Decision may be subject to special surveillance. 2. Prior surveillance measures shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 10 of this Annex. 3. Prior surveillance measures shall have a limited period of validity. Unless otherwise provided, they shall cease to be valid at the end of the second six-month period following the first six months after the measures were introduced. 4. The Commission and the competent OCTs authorities shall ensure the effectiveness of the surveillance measures by introducing the methods of administrative cooperation set out in Annexes VI and VII. 1. On duly justified grounds of urgency relating to deterioration of the economic and/or financial situation of Union producers which would be difficult to remedy, provisional measures may be imposed. Provisional measures shall not apply for more than 200 days. Provisional measures shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 10 of this Annex. In cases of imperative grounds of urgency, the Commission shall adopt immediately applicable provisional safeguard measures in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 10 of this Annex. 2. Should the provisional safeguard measures be repealed because the investigation shows that the conditions set out in Article 2 are not met, any customs duty collected as a result of those provisional measures shall be refunded automatically. 1. Where the facts as finally established show that the conditions set out in Article 2 are not met, the Commission shall adopt a decision terminating the investigation and proceeding in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 4. The Commission shall make public, with due regard to the protection of confidential information within the meaning of Article 9, a report setting forth its findings and reasoned conclusions reached on all pertinent issues of fact and law. 2. Where the facts as finally established show that the conditions set out in Article 2 are met, the Commission shall adopt a decision imposing definitive safeguard measures in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 4 of this Annex. The Commission shall make public, with due regard to the protection of confidential information within the meaning of Article 9, a report containing a summary of the material facts and considerations relevant to the determination, and notify the OCTs authorities immediately of the decision to take the necessary safeguard measures 1. A safeguard measure shall remain in force only for such period of time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy the serious injury and to facilitate adjustment. That period shall not exceed three years, unless it is extended under paragraph 2. 2. The initial period of duration of a safeguard measure may exceptionally be extended by up to two years provided it is determined that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious difficulties. 3. Any extension pursuant to paragraph 2 shall be preceded by an investigation upon a request by a Member State, by any legal person or any association not having legal personality, acting on behalf of the Union industry, or on the Commission’s own initiative if there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary. 4. The initiation of an investigation shall be published in accordance with Article 4 and the safeguard measure shall remain in force, pending the outcome of the investigation. The investigation and any decision regarding an extension pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article shall be done in accordance with Articles 6 and 7. 1. Information received pursuant to this Decision shall be used only for the purpose for which it was requested. Neither information of a confidential nature nor any information provided on a confidential basis received pursuant to this Decision shall be disclosed without specific permission from the supplier of such information. 2. Each request for confidentiality shall state the reasons why the information is confidential. However, if the supplier of the information wishes neither to make it public nor to authorise its disclosure in general terms or in the form of a summary, and if it appears that the request for confidentiality is unjustified, the information concerned may be disregarded. 3. Information shall, in any case, be considered to be confidential if its disclosure is likely to have a significantly adverse effect upon the supplier or the source of such information. 4. Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not preclude reference by the Union authorities to general information and in particular to reasons on which decisions taken pursuant to this Decision are based. Those authorities shall, however, take into account the legitimate interest of natural and legal persons concerned that their business secrets should not be divulged. 1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee established by Article 4(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 260/2009 (1). That Committee shall be a Committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply. 3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply. 4. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, in conjunction with Article 4 thereof, shall apply.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-02 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.