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1. An investigation shall be initiated upon request by a Member State, by any legal person or any association not having legal personality, acting on behalf of the Union industry, or on the Commission’s own initiative if it is apparent to the Commission that there is sufficient prima facie evidence, as determined on the basis of factors referred to in Article 5(5), to justify such initiation.

2. The request to initiate an investigation shall contain evidence that the conditions for imposing the safeguard measure set out in Article 2(1) are met. The request shall generally contain the following information: the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the product concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic market taken by increased imports, changes in the level of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilisation, profits and losses, and employment. An investigation may also be initiated in the event that there is a surge of imports concentrated in one or several Member States, provided that there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the conditions for initiation are met, as determined on the basis of factors referred to in Article 5(5).

3. A Member State shall inform the Commission if trends in imports from Korea appear to call for safeguard measures. That information shall include the evidence available as determined on the basis of factors referred to in Article 5(5). The Commission shall pass that information on to all Member States.

4. The Commission shall consult Member States forthwith if a request is received pursuant to paragraph 1 or if the Commission considers initiation of an investigation on its own initiative. Consultation with the Member States shall take place within 8 working days of the Commission sending the request or information, as provided for in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article respectively, within the Committee referred to in Article 14. Where, after consultation, it is apparent that there is sufficient prima facie evidence as determined on the basis of factors referred to in Article 5(5) to justify the initiation of a proceeding the Commission shall publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. Initiation shall take place within 1 month of the request received pursuant to paragraph 1.

5. The notice referred to in paragraph 4 shall:

(a) give a summary of the information received, and require that all relevant information be communicated to the Commission;

(b) state the period within which interested parties may make known their views in writing and submit information, if such views and information are to be taken into account during the investigation;

(c) state the period within which interested parties may apply to be heard orally by the Commission in accordance with Article 5(9).

6. Evidence collected for the purpose of initiating proceedings in accordance with Article 14.2 of the Rules of Origin Protocol may also be used for investigations with a view to the imposition of safeguard measures where the conditions stipulated in this Article are met, in particular during the first 5-year period following the date of application of the Agreement.