Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 9 June 2016 —
Marquis Energy v Council

(Case T‑277/13)

Dumping — Imports of bioethanol originating in the United States — Definitive anti-dumping duty — Action for annulment — Direct concern — Admissibility — Countrywide anti-dumping duty — Individual treatment — Sampling

1.                     Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Whether directly concerned — Criteria — Regulation imposing anti-dumping duties — Whether producers not having exported the product subject to an anti-dumping duty directly affected (Art. 263, fourth para., TFEU) (see paras 55, 66-80)

2.                     Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Individual concern — Criteria — Regulation imposing anti-dumping duties — Whether producers not having exported the product subject to an anti-dumping duty individually affected (Art. 263, fourth para., TFEU) (see paras 81-105)

3.                     Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Measures of direct and individual concern to them — Existence of other remedies — Irrelevant (Art. 263, fourth para., TFEU) (see para. 108)

4.                     Judicial proceedings — Intervention — Objection of inadmissibility not raised by the defendant — Inadmissibility — Absolute bar to proceeding — To be considered of the Court’s own motion (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 40, fourth para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 142(3)) (see para. 114)

5.                     Actions for annulment — Natural or legal persons — Interest in bringing proceedings — Need for an actual and current interest — Regulation imposing anti-dumping duties — Interest of a producer of the product subject to the anti-dumping duty in bringing proceedings (Art. 263, fourth para., TFEU) (see paras 115-117)

6.                     International agreements — Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation — GATT 1994 — Not possible to invoke WTO agreements to challenge the legality of an EU measure — Exceptions — EU measure intended to ensure its implementation or referring thereto expressly and precisely (Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, ‘Anti-Dumping Agreement of 1994’, Arts 6.10 and 9.2; Council Regulation No 1225/2009, Art. 9(5)) (see paras 129-139)

7.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Fixing of anti-dumping duties — Obligation to impose individual duties on each supplier — Scope — Interpretation in the light of the 1994 GATT Anti-Dumping Agreement — Imposition of individual duties on sampled exporters or producers who cooperated with the investigation (Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, ‘Anti-Dumping Agreement of 1994’, Arts 6.10 and 9.2; Council Regulation No 1225/2009, Arts 9(5), and 17(1) and (3)) (see paras 142-149, 156-160)

8.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Course of the investigation — Sampling — Modification of the composition of a sample — Discretion of the Commission (Council Regulation No 1225/2009, Art. 17) (see para. 150)

9.                     Common commercial policy — Protection against dumping — Fixing of anti-dumping duties — Obligation to impose individual duties on each supplier — Exceptions — Interpretation in the light of the 1994 GATT Anti-Dumping Agreement — Difficulties in establishing an individual export price for a sampled producer which cooperated in the investigation — Not included (Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, ‘Anti-Dumping Agreement of 1994’, Arts 6.10 and 9.2; Council Regulation No 1225/2009, Art. 9(5)) (see paras 172-189)

Re:

APPLICATION for partial annulment of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 157/2013 of 18 February 2013 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of bioethanol originating in the United States of America (OJ 2013 L 49, p. 10), in so far as it affects the applicant.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Annuls Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 157/2013 of 18 February 2013 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of bioethanol originating in the United States of America in so far as it concerns Marquis Energy LLC;

2. Orders the Council of the European Union to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Marquis Energy;

3. Orders the European Commission and ePURE, de Europese Producenten Unie van Hernieuwbare Ethanol to bear their own costs.