b'Appendix 16: Cecilia Malmstrom,Letter To William DartmouthOn Chinese Steel DumpingBrussels, NE/cz Dear LordDartmouth,I referto your letterof 22 October regarding imports of steel fromChinaandparticularly dumping.I fully shareyour concerns regarding thesteel sectorin Europe andtheimpactwhich cheapimports of the products fromChinaandother countries are having on theEuropean steel producers. It has beenindeed proventhattheChineseproducers are dumping some of theexcess capacitieson theEuropean market. As a result,we have currently tradedefence measuresin placeagainstfourteen steel products fromChina. At thesame time there are also a number of new investigationsongoing concerning steel products from China,which may also resultin theimposition of further tradedefence measures.I assure you thattheCommission is ready to openanti-dumping cases if thesteel industryasks us to do so, as longas they provideus with thenecessaryprimafacie evidencethatjustifies theinitiation of investigations.Ourtradedefence services are always available to provideany guidance to theindustryin relation to thetradedefence process.Each andevery complaint brought by theindustrywill be examined thoroughly.TheCommission acts as quickly as possible,however,you must appreciate thatthis is a process,subjectto legal requirements andscrutiny,notonly by theMember States, butalso theCourtsandin some instances theWorld TradeOrganisation. As a result,time is needed to ensure thatany actiontakenis in line with the legislationandourinternational obligations. Measurescannot be imposed withoutfirst establishing that dumping and/orsubsidisation is takingplaceandcausinginjury to theEuropean industry.Thatsaid, I assure you thatwhereit is justifiedto imposemeasuresit will be done.Yours sincerely,Cecilia Malmstrm Mr William DartmouthMEP EFDD GroupCoordinator on InternationalTrade 60, Rue Wiertz - ASP 3 F 361 B~ 1047 Brussels B-1049 BRUSSELS - TEL (+32-2) 29863 66 - FAX (+32-2) 297 68 94224'