8/8/2011
HEADLINES
Chinese Fastener Makers Fear EU Tariff “Re-Examination”
The European Union may launch a “re-examination” of fasteners imported from China even though the World Trade Organization ruled that the EU’s 85% tariffs are illegal, China Daily reports.
Concerned that the EU will delay removal of its tariffs, the Chinese government reportedly is preparing to urge Europe to quickly end the duties.
However, fastener industry leaders in China are expecting a longer turnaround than the typical 10-15 months it takes most countries to withdraw duties, according to China Daily.
“Domestic manufacturers have to give priority to standardizing exports and improving quality”, because there is a “possibility that the EU will launch a new round of review and investigations of fasteners imported from China,” said Yang Fengdan, deputy secretary-general of the Jiaxing Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export.
Yang speculated that the EU is “probably unwilling to (lift the tariffs), delaying the implementation or partly implementing the WTO ruling.”
The WTO’s Appellate Body ruled in July that EU duties on fasteners from China break international trade rules in many cases and should be revised to reflect non-market economy treatment.
The WTO ruling criticized the way the EU assessed antidumping duties on fastener imports from China, affirming China’s complaint that the EU unfairly judged China as a non-market economy when it applied duties on fasteners in January 2009.
The Appellate Body, the WTO’s highest court, found that the EU discriminates against Chinese exporters compared to exporters from other countries. The decision could force the EU to set individual duties on companies instead of imposing a blanket duty for the whole country.
The ruling found that the EU used the wrong method to calculate the amount of alleged dumping and had shown it “impinged upon only 27 percent of EU production of such fasteners, not a high enough proportion to qualify.”
However, the Appellate Body’s report made room for aggregation — blanket claims against all producers in a given country — by upholding the principle that “a group of companies whose decision-making is subject to government influence” could be successfully targeted by an anti-dumping case.
“It’s possible still to consider China as one producer, like China Incorporated,” the trade official told Reuters.
The EU adopted 85% antidumping duties on certain fasteners from China in February 2009 after concluding that Chinese producers had flooded the market with fasteners at 30% to 50% below European prices.
China responded by placing five-year antidumping duties of up to 26% on steel fasteners imported from the European Union, affecting about EUR 140 million (US$240 million) worth of fasteners.
China also filed an official complaint on July 31, 2009, following through on its threat to challenge the duties imposed on screw and bolt exports totaling EUR 575 million (US$755 million) a year. ©2011 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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