On August 4, 2019, through the Communiqué No. 2019/221, the Ministry of Trade ("Ministry") had initiated an anti-dumping investigation against imports of products classified as "only plastic made pacifiers, feeding bottles and other feeding, nursing and infant care products (formula plate, artillery, formula spoon, fruit strainer, milk storage bag, sippy cup (including with straws), milk container, teether/teether ring, soother holder, manual nose aspirator/nose cleaner, chest guard, manual breast pump, breast pump, soother container, artillery container, teat/feeding bottle teat, feeding bottle, sippy cup end piece, nose aspirator end piece, manual breast pump milking bottle)" under the CN Codes 3923.21.00.00.11, 3923.29.10.00.11, 3923.29.90.00.11, 3923.30.10.00.19, 3924.10.00.00.21, 3924.10.00.00.22, 3924.10.00.00.29, 3924.10.00.00.31, 3924.10.00.00.32, 3924.10.00.00.39, 3924.90.00.00.11, 3924.90.00.00.19, 3926.90.97.90.16, 3926.90.97.90.17, 3926.90.97.90.18, 8414.10.81.90.00, and 8414.10.89.90.00 originating from People's Republic of China and Thailand (together, the "Products").

The investigation was launched upon the application of the Turkish company Burda Bebek Ürünleri San. ve Tic., a domestic manufacturer. Within the scope of the investigation, the Ministry requested additional data from other domestic manufacturer companies regarding the applicant's claims within their application, and opined upon gathering the relevant information that the data received from other companies do not change or interfere with the facts of the investigation.

The Ministry conducted its investigation and evaluation based on the data it gathered on a three year period (through 2016 to 2018). Per the Information Report of the Ministry2, it was able to conduct the investigation through the information and data available to it at the time, as importers from People's Republic of China and Thailand did not cooperate or provide sufficient information for the calculation of their dumping margins. Thus, the Ministry determined the dumping margins by comparing the determined weighted average of normal value of the Products, to the weighted average of their FOB export price.

In determining whether there is injury or threat of injury to the relevant domestic market, the Ministry reviewed and evaluated a wide array of data such as the general import quantity, general import value and unit import price, also taking into account the improvements in imports originating from countries other than those subject to the investigation, wherein it observed an increase in values and numbers in 2017 and a small decrease in 2018. Another significant result procured by the Ministry appears to be the repression percentage of the sale prices of the domestic market, by the entry prices of imports originating from People's Republic of China and Thailand. However this result was not mentioned in the Information Report in detail, as the basis information gathered from domestic manufacturers was considered classified.

The main parameters taken into account by the Ministry appear to be the economic indicators of the domestic market, a few of which were values relating to manufacturing, capacity and rate of capacity utilization, domestic sales, export, market share, cost, profitability, stocks. In this regard, a considerable decline was observed in terms of domestic sales, market share, profitability, rate of return and cash flow. Consequently, in determining whether there is injury or threat of injury to the domestic market, the Ministry predicated that, although there appears to be some level of progression in certain economic indicators, it mainly observed severe deterioration in key economic indicators such as manufacturing, domestic sales, profitability, rate of return and cash flow. Further, the Ministry stated in its report that the level of dumping margins of imports from the relevant countries were significantly above the negligible rate. Based on the foregoing outcome, the Ministry concluded that imports from the relevant countries do, in fact, cause injury to the domestic market.

In light of the above, on August 18, 2020, the Ministry announced its decision upon the completion of the investigation on the Products per the Communiqué No. 2020/203, wherein the Ministry decided to apply anti-dumping measures (i) at a rate of 12% of the CIF cost for imports originating from People's Republic of China, and (ii) at a rate 26% of the CIF cost for imports originating from Thailand. The Ministry decided to impose the relevant rates without granting any exception to any particular company, since none of the importers from the relevant countries provided sufficient information to or cooperated with the Ministry during the course of the investigation.

This article was first published in Legal Insights Quarterly by ELIG Gürkaynak Attorneys-at-Law in December 2020. A link to the full Legal Insight Quarterly may be found here

Footnotes

1 See https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2019/08/20190804-7.htm (Last accessed on October 23, 2020)

2 See https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2020/08/20200818-2-1.pdf (Last accessed on October 23, 2020)

3 See https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2020/08/20200818-2.htm (Last accessed on October 23, 2020)

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