L 229/20 Official Journal of the European Union 24.8.2012 COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 771/2012 of 23 August 2012 making imports of bioethanol originating in the United States of America subject to registration in application of Article 24(5) of Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Community THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 597/2009 of 11 June 2009 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Community (') (the basic Regulation) and in particular Articles 16(4), 24(3) and 24(5) thereof, After consulting the Advisory Committee, Whereas (") ¢ O] 0] On 25 November 2011, the European Commission (‘the Commission’) announced by a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union (3) (‘notice of initi- ation’), the initiation of an anti-subsidy proceeding (‘AS proceeding’ or ‘the proceeding’) with regard to imports into the Union of bioethanol originating in the United States of America (USA’ or ‘the country concerned) following a complaint lodged on 12 October 2011 by the European Producers Union of Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE) (the complainant) on behalf of producers representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of bioethanol. A. PRODUCT CONCERNED The product concerned by this registration is the same as that defined in the notice of initiation, namely bioe- thanol, sometimes referred to as ‘fuel ethanol’ i.e. ethyl alcohol produced from agricultural products (as listed in Annex [ to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), denatured or undenatured, excluding products with a water content of more than 0,3 % (m/m) measured according to the standard EN 15376, as well as ethyl alcohol produced from agricultural products (as listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Func- tioning of the European Union) contained in blends with gasoline with an ethyl alcohol content of more than 10 % (v|v) originating in the USA, currently falling L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 93. C 345, 25.11.2011, p. 13. within CN codes ex 2208 90 99, ex 2710 12 21, ex 2710 12 41, ex 2710 12 51, ex 2710 12 59, ex 2710 12 90, ex 3814 00 10, ex 3820 00 00 and ex 3824 90 97. ex 2207 10 00, ex 271012 11, ex 2710 12 25, ex 2710 12 45, ex 2207 20 00, ex 271012 15, ex 2710 12 31, ex 2710 12 49, ex 271012 70, ex 3814 00 90, B. REQUEST Following the publication of the notice of initiation, the complainant requested in November 2011 that imports of the product concerned be made subject to registration pursuant to Article 24(5) of the basic Regulation so that measures may subsequently be applied against those imports from the date of such registration. The complainant repeated several times its request for regis- tration of imports of the product concerned, most recently on 3 August 2012, and provided further reasons as to why such registration should be made in the current investigation. C. GROUNDS FOR THE REGISTRATION According to Article 24(5) of the basic Regulation, the Commission may, after consultation of the Advisory Committee, direct the customs authorities to take the appropriate steps to register imports, so that measures may subsequently be applied against those imports from the date of such registration. Imports may be made subject to registration following a request from the Union industry which contains sufficient evidence to justify such action. The complainant claimed that the product concerned was subsidised and that injury to the Union industry, which is difficult to repair, was caused by the surge in imports benefiting from countervailable subsidies in a relatively short period of time. The complainant provided evidence that the imports of the product concerned have increased significantly in absolute terms and in terms of market share. The volume and prices of the imported product concerned have had a negative impact on the quantities sold, the level of the prices charged in the Union market and the market share held by the Union industry, resulting in substantial adverse effects on the overall performance and the financial situation of the Union industry.