In the framework of these partial interim reviews, the exporting producers offered undertakings in accordance with Article 8(1) of the basic Regulation. In these undertakings, the exporting producers offered to sell the product concerned at or above price levels which eliminate the injurious effects of dumping. In addition, the offers made provide for the indexation of the minimum prices in accordance with public international quotations of the product concerned, given that the prices of the product concerned vary significantly. The exporting producers also offered to respect a certain quantitative ceiling in order to avoid that their imports could influence the prices in France or in the United Kingdom. Those prices serve as a basis for the indexation. The level of the quantitative ceilings is set in total around 12 % of the total Community consumption of the product concerned.

Moreover, the exporting producers — in order to reduce the risk of price violations by means of cross-compensation of the prices — offered not to sell the product covered by the undertakings to the same customers in the European Community to which they sell other products, with the exception of certain other products for which the exporting producers undertake to respect specific price regimes.

The exporting producers will also provide the Commission with regular and detailed information concerning their exports to the Community, meaning that the undertakings can be monitored effectively by the Commission. Furthermore, the sales structures of the exporting producers are such that the Commission considers that the risk of circumventing the undertakings is limited.

Subsequent to the disclosure of the undertaking offers, the Community industry objected to these undertaking offers. The Community industry argued that the prices of the product concerned are volatile and that an indexation of the minimum import prices based on the quoted prices of the product concerned is not workable under all market conditions, in particular it would not be workable in a supply driven market. Therefore, the Community industry suggested to base the indexation of the minimum prices on the prices of natural gas as quoted at Waidhaus. However, in this regard it has to be noted that a natural gas price based indexation is not considered to be feasible in these cases due to the poor correlation of the product concerned and natural gas prices. As concerns the Community industry’s comments that on a supply driven market the current indexation formula will not be workable, it is noted that the Commission will monitor these undertakings and should prima facie evidence exist that these undertakings are no longer workable, the Commission should act expeditiously to remedy the situation, as set out in recital 19.

The Community industry further argued that the level of the quantitative ceilings would be too high and requested it to be set maximum at 4 % of total Community consumption. It claimed that the companies would be able to influence the prices on the Community market with the amounts mentioned in recital 12 and thus make the indexation of the minimum prices unworkable. In this respect it should be noted that the quantitative ceiling was established at a level which was considered to (i) satisfactorily limit the risk of companies influencing the prices on the UK and French market thus rendering the indexation formula unworkable (ii) be sufficiently high so that so that the undertakings remain practicable at the same time. Moreover, the Community industry failed to substantiate its argument as to how any quantity exceeding 4 % of the total Community consumption would be sufficient to have a detrimental impact on prices.

The Community industry proposed moreover the introduction of a ‘progressive quantitative ceiling’ whereby the quantitative ceiling of each exporting producer shall be increased on a yearly basis depending on them respecting the terms of the undertakings. This suggestion is however rejected because the sole aim of the quantitative ceilings is to limit the risk of influencing the prices on which the indexation of minimum price is based. It should also be noted that in case of a breach of the undertaking, the acceptance of the undertaking as such may be withdrawn.

Furthermore, the Community industry argued that because the exporting producers can sell other products together with the product covered by the undertaking to the same customers in the European Community, there is a high risk of cross-compensation, i.e. the products not covered by the undertaking may be sold at artificially low prices in order to compensate the minimum prices for the products covered by the undertaking. In this regard, it should be noted, as indicated in recital 13, the undertaking contains specific clauses in order to limit the risk of cross-compensation. Therefore, the concerns of the Community industry have been sufficiently addressed.

In view of the above, the undertakings offered by the Russian and Ukrainian exporting producers are acceptable.

However, due to the special elements of these undertakings (i.e. in particular the indexation formula) the Commission will assess the practicability of these undertakings regularly. For its practicability assessment, the Commission will take into account, but is not restricted to, the following criteria: the prices of the product concerned in the French and the UK market; the level of the coefficient of the indexation formula; the sales prices of the exporting producer as reported by them in their quarterly sales reports; profitability of the Community industry. In particular, should this practicability assessment show that the decrease of the profitability of the Community industry is attributable to the undertakings, the Commission endeavours to withdraw the acceptance of the undertakings expeditiously in accordance with Article 8(9) of the basic Regulation.

To further ensure the respect of these undertakings, importers have been made aware by the Regulation (EC) No 2008/661/EC and by Regulation (EC) No 2008/662/EC that the non-fulfillment of the conditions provided for by those Regulations, or the withdrawal by the Commission of the acceptance of the undertaking, may lead to the customs debt being incurred for the relevant transactions.

In the event of a breach or withdrawal of the undertaking or in case of withdrawal of acceptance of the undertaking by the Commission, the anti-dumping duty imposed in accordance with Article 9(4) of the basic Regulation shall automatically apply pursuant to Article 8(9) of the basic Regulation,