This Decision is addressed to:
1. Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG, Wiesenstrasse 36, D-45473 Mülheim
2. Vallourec SA, 130, rue de Silly, BP 415, F-92103 Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex
3. British Steel Limited, 15 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JD, United Kingdom
4. Dalmine SpA, Piazza Caduti 6 luglio 1944, n.1, I-24044 Dalmine (Bergamo)
5. Sumitomo Metal Industries Limited, Ote Centre Building, 1-3, Ohtemachi 1-Chome, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 100-8113 Japan
6. Nippon Steel Corporation, 6-3 Otemachi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8071, Japan
7. Kawasaki Steel Corporation, Hibiya Kokusai Building, 2-3, Uchisaiwaicho 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0011, Japan
8. NKK Corporation, 1-1-2 Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8202, Japan.
This decision shall be enforceable pursuant to Article 256 of the EC Treaty.
Done at Brussels, 8 December 1999.
For the Commission
Mario Monti
Member of the Commission
(1) OJ 13, 21.2.1962, p. 204/62.
(2) OJ L 11, 4.1.2003, p. 1.
(3) Twelfth general report on the activities of the European Communities, point 453.
(4) Source: reply from BS, dated 26 August 1997, to the Commission's request for information.
(5) Commission decision of 3 June 1997 in Case IV/M.906 (OJ C 238, 5.8.1997, p. 15).
(6) OJ C 24, 29.1.1999, p. 2.
(7) Source: Provvedimento n. 3630 dell'Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (C2311) Techint Finanziaria- Siderca/Dalmine. Bolletino N. 7-1996 dell'Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, p. 55.
(8) Original English.
(9) The page numbers cited in brackets are those in the file.
(10) "This trade began after the 1977 fall in the market (following the first oil boom)."
(11) Thus in 1993, the meeting of 5 November was prepared by meetings of the Europeans during the summer, meetings of the European-Japanese-Latin American working parties in the autumn, a meeting of the European presidents on 23 September (at which the "paper for president on octg and project line pipe" was discussed) and a meeting of European and Japanese managers.
(12) "I am only aware of the concept of 'fundamentals' in connection with past practices (i.e. prior to 1 April 1995) between European and Japanese producers. So far as I know, 'fundamentals' relates to an agreement concerning OCTG and project line pipe which was aimed primarily at protecting domestic markets. This meant that the Japanese producers were not supposed to penetrate the European market in these sectors, while European producers were not to deliver to Japan."
(13) "Contracts put out to tender by AGIP-Italia were constantly won by Dalmine, since the meetings of the producers' clubs (cartels), held twice a year, once in Europe and once in Japan, established a gentlemen's agreement under which each producer was to be entitled to win tenders in its home country, on the basis of an internationally accepted rule according to which if the domestic operator's bid was equal to 100, the other operators undertook to bid a price higher by a proportion varying between 8 and 10 % .... An operator that breaks the agreement by underquoting a competitor on the domestic market will be threatened with reprisals so as to make it withdraw the bid, but that never happens because the rule is rigidly observed".
(14) "they may reflect the position of the Community seamless pipes and tubes sector .... This position has developed on two lines: implementation of a rationalisation process ...; contacts with the Japanese industry, whose production capacity was exceeding demand. These contacts related to exports of pipes (particularly those intended for the oil industry) to zones other than the EC (Russia and China) and they were also intended to limit pipe exports to the EC after the closure, of British Steel's mills and, consequently, to protect the Community seamless pipe and tube industry."
(15) Original English.
(16) "VLR's view is that we should not open the door to the Japs by allowing them a British content. We must play the fundamentals for all their worth, the first step being to write via the pt of the Club to the Jap presidents drawing attention to the presence of the shoshas in the UK. It seems ambitious to imagine that BSC can organise a sharing key in Japanese PJ when SMI has got nowhere on this point for many months."
(17) "All the same, STDM should more or less leave the UK alone in exchange for our protection of Mexico and Argentina, but in the rest of the world it will try to expand its sales as much as possible."
(18) "MRW is the only European producer who frightens the Japanese and who can therefore enforce the 'fundamentals improved'. It would be in MRW's interest for the 'fundamentals' to be defended in the UK, since it would supply some of the plain end pipes after the closure of Clydesdale .... VLR stressed the fact that any alliance in Europe must be made with a sufficiently strong share for MRW."
(19) Ph. Varley, representative of BS.
(20) "BS and VLR agree that this strengthening of the EEC is viable and must result in 'fundamentals improved' which would stop the Japanese from having access to the UK even after Clydesdale had been closed. PhV added that 100 % respect for the 'fundamentals' in the UK was impossible but that if the exceptions did not exceed 15000 tonnes a year, the situation would be tolerable. BS mentioned, however, the possibility of buying plain ends from UTM, SIDERCA and TAMSA to avoid cut-throat competition on their part."
(21) "... if ... we can persuade the Japanese not to intervene on the UK market and that the problem should be settled among Europeans. In that case, plain ends would effectively be shared between MRW, VLR and Dalmine. In this second scenario, it would probably be in our interest to link VLR's sales to both the price and the volume of VAM sold by BSC".
(22) Vallourec document entitled "Réflexions stratégiques concernant les relations de VLR avec SMI et BSC" dated 2 May 1990. "MRW/DALMINE/VLR are getting BSC to buy its plain ends as a matter of priority from the Europeans, who share out this supply in accordance with strict rules".
(23) "The defence of the 'fundamentals' in the UK would be in MRW's interest, since it would supply some of the plain-end pipes after the closure of Clydesdale".
(24) This was a preparatory document for the meeting of the presidents of the European firms held on 29 September 1993 in Paris, prior to their meeting with their Japanese and Latin American counterparts on 5 November. According to the handwritten note on the document, the latter was transmitted to Vallourec on 23 September 1993 by AS (A. Stewart of British Steel).
(25) This document was one of the preparatory documents for the meeting of the presidents of the European firms, prior to their meeting with their Japanese and Latin American counterparts on 5 November 1993. According to the handwritten note on the document, the latter was transmitted to Vallourec on 23 September by AS (A. Stewart of British Steel).
(26) "LA agreed the above share except for European market. For European tenders, liaison shall be discussed case by case in a cooperative sense".
(27) Original version.
(28) Original version.
(29) Original version.
(30) Vallourec Annual Report 1994 (page 14617).
(31) Commission Decision 86/398/EEC of 23 April 1986 in Case IV/31.149 - Polypropylene (OJ L 230, 18.8.1986, p. 1, recital 81). See also T-1/89 Rhône-Poulenc [1991] ECR II-867, paragraph 120 and Joined Cases T-305/94 etc. Limburgse Vinyl Maatschappij (not yet published), paragraph 715.
(32) Original English.
(33) Case 41/69 [1970] ECR 661, paragraph 128..
(34) Case 123/83 BNIC v Guy Clair [1985] ECR 391, paragraph 22.
(35) Case 51/75 EMI Records v CBS United Kingdom [1976] ECR 811, paragraph 28. Commission Decisions 74/634/EEC of 29 November 1974 (IV/27.095 - Franco-Japanese ball-bearings agreement (OJ L 343, 21.12.1974, p. 19)), 75/77/EEC of 8 January 1975 (IV/27.039 - Preserved mushrooms (OJ L 29, 3.2.1975, p. 26)) and 75/497/EEC of 15 July 1975 (IV/27.000 - IFTRA rules for producers of virgin aluminium (OJ L 228, 29.8.1975, p. 3)).
(36) See the Commission Decision 73/109/EEC of 2 January 1973 relating to proceedings under Articles 85 and 86 of the EEC Treaty (IV/26.918 - European sugar industry) (OJ L 140, 26.5.1973, p. 17).
(37) OJ C 23, 23.1.1997, p. 3, points I(A)(3) and II(A)(2).
(38) Point 1.6 of its reply to the statement of objections.
(39) Original English.
(40) Original English.
(41) Original English.
(42) Original English.
(43) Case T-14/89 Montedipe [1992] ECR II-1155, paragraph 264.
(44) OJ L 328, 14.11.1992, p. 15, recital 38.
(45) "Some UK customers will want to take advantage of the opportunity to obtain plain ends at lower prices than those offered by the Europeans to BSC and will try and force BSC to use plain ends of South American origin, which BSC will find hard to refuse."
(46) According to clause 4, there are three cut-off dates: for instance, for deliveries in March, BS specifies (a) quantities on 15 December, (b) outside diameters on 15 January and (c) all the other order attributes on 25 January (if the delivery is for the first half of March) or 10 February (if it is for the second).
(47) OJ C 207, 18.7.1996, p. 4.
