On June 22, 2023, SECEX Letter No. 24/2023 was published, initiating the investigation of the existence of subsidies subject to countervailing measures granted to producers from China that exported optical fiber cables to Brazil, commonly classified under subitem 8544.70.10 of the MERCOSUR Common Nomenclature (NCM), and damage to domestic industry resulting from such practice.
These are optical fiber cables composed mainly of optical fibers, polymeric materials (polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, materials with flame retardant characteristics), aramid or glass fiber tensile elements, glass fiber rods impregnated with an epoxy-type resin, polyester filaments, filling compounds (jelly), metallic elements (steel wires or tapes), and engineering plastics (PBT).
Fiber optic cables are used in internal and/or external telecommunications networks and can be installed in aerial self-supported form, in which the cables are anchored to posts or towers, supporting their own weight; aerial spined, in which the cables are supported on metallic or dielectric ropes for external and/or internal environments in telecommunications networks; or underground, in ducts or directly buried, with capacities that vary from 1 to 288 optical fibers.
The petition was filed by Cablena do Brasil Ltda, Furukawa Electric Latam S.A., and Prysmian Cabos e Sistemas do Brasil S.A.
The analysis of the evidence of the existence of subsidies subject to countervailing measures considered the period from July 2021 to June 2022. The period of analysis of damage, on the other hand, considered the period from July 2017 to June 2022.
The assessment of public interest will be optional, upon request submitted based on a duly completed Public Interest Questionnaire or ex officio at DECOM's discretion. The public interest will exist, according to art. 3 of SECEX Ordinance No. 13, of 2020, when the impact of the imposition of the compensatory measure on economic agents as a whole proves to be potentially more harmful, if compared to the positive effects of the application of the trade defense measure.
Interested parties may cooperate with the investigation by providing data for the completion of the Exporter, Importer, or other National Producer Questionnaires in order to defend their interests, and to benefit from any individual margin, which is generally lower than the margin calculated based on the available information.
