(33) Whereas it is prudent to provide for an administrative system under which arguments can be presented as to whether measures are in the Community interest, including the interests of consumers, and to lay down the time periods within which such information has to be presented, together with the disclosure rights of the parties concerned; (34) Whereas in applying the rules of the Subsidies Agreement it is essential, in order to maintain the balance of rights and obligations which this Agreement sought to establish, that the Community take account of their interpretation by the Community's major trading partners, as reflected in legislation or established practice;
(35) Whereas, by Regulation (EC) No 3284/94 of 22 December 1994 on protection against subsidized imports from countries not members of the European Community (4), the Council replaced Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88 and instituted a new common system of defence against subsidized imports from countries not members of the European Community;
(36) Whereas drafting problems in the text of Regulation (EC) No 3284/94 became apparent on publication; whereas, moreover, the Regulation has already been amended;
(37) Whereas, in the interests of clarity, transparency and legal certainty, that Regulation should therefore be repealed and replaced, without prejudice to the countervailing proceedings already initiated under it or under Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Principles
1. A countervailing duty may be imposed for the purpose of offsetting any subsidy granted, directly or indirectly, for the manufacture, production, export or transport of any product whose release for free circulation in the Community causes injury.
2. For the purpose of this Regulation, a product is considered to be subsidized if it benefits from a countervailable subsidy as defined in Articles 2 and 3.
3. Such subsidy may be granted by the government of the country of origin of the imported product, or by the government of an intermediate country from which the product is exported to the Community, known for the purpose of this Regulation as 'the country of export'.
The term 'government' is defined, for the purposes of this Regulation as a government or any public body within the territory of the country of origin or export.
4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, where products are not directly imported from the country of origin but are exported to the Community from an intermediate country, the provisions of this Regulation shall be fully applicable and the transaction or transactions shall, where appropriate, be regarded as having taken place between the country of origin and the Community.
5. For the purpose of this Regulation the term 'like product' shall be interpreted to mean a product which is identical, that is to say, alike in all respects, to the product under consideration, or in the absence of such a product, another product which although not alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the product under consideration.
