he Commission has just imposed provisional anti-dumping duties
      of between 1.5 % and 26.8 % on imports of electronic scales from
      Japan.  Three Japanese companies which offered to raise their
      prices to a level which would eliminate the injury to the
      European industry have been excluded from the duty.
      The duty takes effect on 17 October 1985 and will last for an
      initial period of four months or until definitive measures are
      adopted.
      BACKGROUND
      Following a complaint from the European Committee of Weighing
      Machine Manufacturers, the Commission opened in September 1983 an
      anti-dumping investigation into imports of electronic scales from
      Japan.
      In March 1984, the Commission published the preliminary results
      of its investigation, which showed that the Japanese firms were
      indeed dumping and causing material injury to the European
      industry, and at the same time it imposed anti-dumping duties
      ranging from 10.56 ECUS to 34.27 ECUS per scale.  The period
      covered by this investigation was September 1982 to August 1983.
      In the period following this decision, several of the
      complainants objected that the situation had changed since the
      reference period of the first investigation.  The Commission,
      taking this into account, allowed the anti-dumping duties to
      lapse and continued its investigation, but, this time, based on
      the reference period September 1983 to June 1984.
                                                       .../...
                     
                                    - 2 -
      The Commission established a normal value for the sale of these
      scales on the Japanese market either by taking actual selling
      prices or, if there were not sufficient sales, by constructing a
      normal value made up of production costs plus the normal profit
      margin for this sector i.e. 8 %.
      This normal value was compared with the price paid by independant
      importers in the EC or, where imports were made by a subsidiary
      company,  with a price based on the selling price of the
      subsidiary company.
      The comparison of these two prices showed weighted average
      dumping margins of between 1 % and 26.8% (compared with 2.3 % and
      12 % in the first investigation).  However, the dumping margin
      varied considerably between member states and levels as high as
      42.2 % were found in the case of the United Kingdom.
      Imports of this relatively new product from Japan have risen
      considerably in recent years, going from 4 167 units in 1980 to
      10 222 units in the first half of 1984.  The equivalent market
      shares were 6 % and 22 %.
      Eighty-five per cent of all imports were made in four member
      states whose weights and measures legislation made them open to
      these dumped scales.  In these cases, the Japanese exporters had
      market shares in 1984 of 85 % in Greece, 77 % in the Netherlands,
      58 % in Belgium and 3O % in the United Kingdom.
]
      (TEC) who, with a dumping margin of 26.8 % exported 6 400 units
      in the first half of 1984 and increased its market share in the
      four member states most affected to the detriment not only of
      Community producers but even of the other Japanese exporters
      whose dumping margins were lower.
      The Community market for this new high technology product is in
      full expansion and Community producers did manage to increase
      their production between 1981 and 1984 despite the illicit
      competition.  However, the Community producers overall market
      share fell dramatically in the states where the Japanese
      exporters had free access and they were forced to keep their
      selling prices at a level which was below their production
      costs.  This must put the necessary future investment in this
      sector in doubt.
      Informed of these facts four Japanese producers, Yamato Scale Co
      Ltd, Reraoka Serkosno Co Ltd, Kubota Ltd and Tokyo Electric Co
      offered to increase their prices.  The Commission considered that
      the undertakings offered by the first three companies whose
      dumping margins were between 1 % and 2.2 % and whose EC market
      shares were comparatively low, were acceptable.  The undertaking
      offered by TEC was not, however, considered sufficient to
      eliminate the injury suffered by the Community industry.
                                                      .../...
       
      
                                    - 3 -
      In these circumstances the Commission has decided that immediate
      protective measures were necessary and has imposed the following
      provisional anti-dumping duties :
      Ishida Scales Manufacturing Co Ltd           1.5 %
      Tokyo Electric Co                           26.8 %
      Others                                      26.8 %
                            ----------------------