Action brought on 8 September 2006 - Niko Tube and Nyzhniodniprovskyi Tube Rolling Plant v Council

(Case T-249/06)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicants: Nikopol Seamless Tubes Plant Closed Joint Stock Company (Niko Tube) (Nikopol, Ukraine) and Nyzhniodniprovskyi Tube Rolling Plant Open Joint Stock Company (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) (represented by: H.-G. Kamann and P. Vander Schueren, lawyers)

Defendant: Council of the European Union

Form of order sought

Annul the contested regulation as far as it concerns the applicants;

order to Council to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicants, who are Ukrainian producers of seamless tubes and pipes, seek the annulment of Council Regulation No 954/2006 ¹ imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain seamless pipes and tubes originating in among others Ukraine.

In support of their application, the applicants invoke that the Council :

-    determined the normal value on the basis of a manifest error of assessment and contrary to the principle of non-discrimination by taking into account products that were not manufactured by the applicants;

-    made a material injury determination in breach of Article 3 of the Basic Regulation ² given that the Community producers did not fully cooperate;

-    acted in breach of Article 5(4) of the Basic Regulation by not terminating the proceeding in light of the non-cooperation by the Community industry;

-    committed a manifest error of assessment under Article 2(10) of the Basic Regulation by deducting an assumed commission from the export price of the sales company Sepco;

-    breached the principle of non-discrimination in considering and ultimately rejecting an offer of undertaking by the applicants; and

-    breached the rights of defence of the applicants and Article 253 EC by not adequately stating reasons for its decision.

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¹ - Council Regulation (EC) No 954/2006 of 27 June 2006 imposing definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain seamless pipes and tubes, of iron or steel originating in Croatia, Romania, Russia and Ukraine, repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2320/97 and (EC) No 348/2000, terminating the interim and expiry reviews of the anti-dumping duties on imports of certain seamless pipes and tubes of iron or non-alloy steel originating, inter alia, in Russia and Romania and terminating the interim reviews of the anti-dumping duties on imports of certain seamless pipes and tubes of iron or non-alloy steel originating, inter alia, in Russia and Romania and in Croatia and Ukraine (OJ 2006 L 175, p. 4).

² - Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (OJ 1996 L 56, p. 1) .