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Brazil and Germany: Investigation into antidumping duties applicable to Brazilian imports of German ethanolamines

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In brief

SECEX1 published on 31 July, 2023 an official notice of initiation of a new investigation into possible resumption of antidumping duties applied (but immediately suspended) to Brazilian imports of ethanolamines (NCMs 2922.11.00 and 2922.15.00), monoethanolamines (MEA) and triethanolamine (TEA), from Germany.

The last sunset review concerning ethanolamines, decided by CAMEX Resolution No. 7/2019, resulted in a five year extension of the antidumping duties for imports originating in the United States and Germany. However, the antidumping duties applicable to the Brazilian imports from German were suspended due to the existence of doubts as to the probable future development of imports from this origin.

Ethanolamines are organic chemical compounds with diverse applications in the chemical, pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries. They are used, for example, in the manufacture of soap, detergents, paints, dyes, rubber, machine fluids and as alkalizing agents for water in steam cycle of power plants.

The full version of the official notice of initiation is available here.

Relevance of interested parties’ participation

Since this is an investigation aimed at assessing the possible resumption of antidumping duties against imports from Germany, only the parties who participated in the previous proceeding shall be allowed to participate in the current proceeding. German exporters did not take part in the last review. Interested parties can submit their applications to participate in the proceeding until 15 August 2023.

The German exporters selected in the original investigation were the following: Basf S.E, Sasol Germany Gmbh, Merck KGAA, Sigma-Aldrich Chemie Gmbh, e Zschimmer & Schwarz Gmbh & Co Chemische Fabriken.

More details

Please see in the chart below further information about the investigation:

1 The Brazilian Secretariat of Foreign Trade.

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Author

Paulo Casagrande joined the Firm in early 2020 as the partner in charge of the Antitrust & Competition group. Mr. Casagrande has 20 years of professional experience, both in the private and the public sectors.

At the federal government, he was the first ever Head of the Bid Rigging Unit at the Secretariat of Economic Law of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice (SDE), the agency then in charge of investigating cartels before the reorganization of the Brazilian Competition Defense System in 2012. During his stint at the government, he conducted several investigations together with other enforcement agencies, and also represented the Secretariat at the meetings of the Competition Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris (France).

While in the private bar, Paulo was a partner at leading international and Brazilian Law firms, and has a deep knowledge of several industries and a broad business vision. He has been especially active in the representation of clients before CADE (the Brazilian antitrust agency) in complex merger reviews and investigations of alleged anticompetitive practices. Paulo also accumulates extensive experience in assisting infrastructure and tech companies active in dynamic digital markets.

*Trench Rossi Watanabe and Baker McKenzie have executed a strategic cooperation agreement for consulting on foreign law.

Author

Francisco Niclós Negrão joined the firm in 2023, as co-head of our Antitrust and International Trade Practice. Negrão has over 20 years of experience in complex cases in both areas, being recognized for offering legal solutions to complex problems in addition to a sophisticated economic analysis, given his double educational background.

Negrão’s experience in both practices during two decades allows him to have a deep knowledge of the functioning of various markets, having had stellar results for his clients in antidumping investigations, subsidies/countervailing measures, public interest analyses, tariff changes, commercial disputes, among others.  In addition, in antitrust, Negrão has a solid background in complex merger reviews, investigations regarding vertical and horizontal practices, and a renowned track record in the designing and implementation of broad and deep competition compliance programs.  He also has experience in the public sector, as a public servant in the Brazilian National Treasury.

Francisco Niclós Negrão has been recognized for International Trade and Antitrust by the main legal rankings, such as Chambers, The Legal 500, Latin Lawer 250, Who’s Who Legal, Leaders League, Best Lawyers, and Análise Advocacia, among others.

In international Trade, according to clients mentioned by The Legal 500: “Francisco Niclós Negrão is currently one of the best lawyers, if not the best, in the area of international trade in the country. He has an incredible depth in his analysis and, at the same time, a great power of synthesis highly valued by those who are on the side of the company and need to pass the information to management in a clear and direct way. In addition, he is highly respected by the authorities for his knowledge. His fluency in English and Spanish, in addition to Portuguese, is a great asset, especially for companies with a presence in several countries.” (The Legal 500, 2022)

In antitrust, according to Chambers and Partners: “Francisco Negrão is commended by market sources for his solid expertise in competition law, being further recognised for his knowledge about trade law.” A client asserts: “He is a very skilled lawyer, understands a lot of economic regulation and goes beyond legal knowledge about the topic at hand,” and adds: “He has this additional economic expertise which part complements the work and adds a lot of value.” (Chambers and Partners, 2022)

In addition to his law degree from the University Center of Brasilia (UniCEUB), also holds Bachelor and Master degrees in Economics and International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University (USA), with a period at Università Bocconi (Italy). Negrão has also compliance training from Society for Corporate Compliance and Ethics – SCCE.

Francisco Niclós Negrão is the President for the Commission of International Trade from the Attorneys Institute of São Paulo (IASP) and has been, for two terms, Director of International Trade in the Brazilian Institute for Antitrust, Consumer Law and International Trade (IBRAC).  He is routinely a speaker in seminars involving International trade and antitrust.

*Trench Rossi Watanabe and Baker McKenzie have executed a strategic cooperation agreement for consulting on foreign law.”

Author

Andrea Da Cunha Cruz joined the Firm in 2022. She integrates the Antitrust practice group, with focus on providing legal assistance regarding a variety of matter concerning competition law and international trade. Andrea has a wide breadth of experience in the representation of clients before the Brazilian Competition Authority (the Administrative Council for Economic Defense or CADE) in administrative proceedings regarding both cartel investigations and unilateral anticompetitive practices. She also has a wide-ranging track record of commercial transactions filed with CADE. Her practice further includes preventive counselling concerning antitrust risks involved in commercial practices and contracts; handling internal investigations; and structuring and implementing antitrust compliance programs. As to international trade, she mainly advises representatives of the national industry and Brazilian importers in antidumping and subsidy investigations.
*Trench Rossi Watanabe and Baker McKenzie have executed a strategic cooperation agreement for consulting on foreign law.”

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