Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China

Announcement

No.99 of 2018 

The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "MOFCOM" or the "Ministry of Commerce") received, on October 29, 2018, a written petition for countervailing investigation formally submitted by China Chamber of International Commerce (hereinafter referred to as "the Applicant") on behalf of domestic barley industry, in which the Applicant requested a countervailing investigation to be conducted against imports of barley originating in Australia. According to Article 16 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China, on November 26, 2018, the MOFCOM invited the Australian government for discussion on matters related to the countervailing investigation and negotiated with the Australian government on December 18. 

In accordance with relevant provisions of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China, the MOFCOM conducted an investigation into the qualification of the Applicant, relevant situations of the products in question and the products of the same kind in China, impact of the imported products on domestic industry and the relevant situations of countries (regions) involved. 

According to the evidence provided by the Applicant and the preliminary review of the MOFCOM, the annual average output of barley represented by the Applicant in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 accounts for major part of that of the same kind in China for the same period, and therefore the provisions of Article 11 and Article 13 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China on applying by domestic industry for countervailing investigation are met. 

The application submitted states that the Australian government has been granting subsidy to the Product under Investigation, and barley industry (enterprises) in Australia may be subject to a total of 32 subsidies. In the meanwhile, it is claimed in the petition, that the products entering into Chinese market soar with price significantly going down, and therefore bring damages to domestic industry. Moreover, there are causal links between the subsidy of the underlying products and the injuries suffered by the domestic industry. Upon review, the MOFCOM believes that the petition contains the contents and relevant evidence as required in Article 14 and Article 15 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China. 

As per the above-mentioned results, the MOFCOM decides, according to Article 16 of the Countervailing Regulations of the People's Republic of China, to file a countervailing investigation against imports of barley originating in Australia as of December 21, 2018.Relevant matters are hereby announced as follows: 

I. Filing of Investigation and Investigation Period 

As of the date hereof, the MOFCOM conducts countervailing investigations against imports of barley originating in Australia within an investigation period from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018, and the investigation period of industry injury is from January 1, 2014 to September 30, 2018. 

II. Products under Investigation and Scope of Investigation 

Scope of investigation: imports of barley originating in Australia

Name of the Products under Investigation: 大麦

English name: Barley 

Main purposes: barley is a cereal crop, which is a gramineae or barley genus. It is mainly used in the production of wine, feed, etc., and can also be used as a seed, and is consumed by consumers directly or through processing. 

The product is listed under tariff number of 10031000 and 10039000 in the Customs Import and Export Tariff of the People’s Republic of China. 

III. Countervailing Investigation 

In the application submitted, the Applicant claimed that the Australian government provided a total of 32 subsidies to barley industry in Australia. After preliminary review and considering the claims submitted by the Australian government before the filing of the case, the MOFCOM decided to investigate the following subsidies: