2/27/2012 11:14:00 AM
NEWS BRIEFS
EU, China Agree on Fastener Tariff Timeline
The European Union has agreed to a timetable to address World Trade Organization concerns regarding Europe’s 85% tariffs on fastener imported from China, Fastener + Fixing Magazine reports.
The EU and China “have agreed that the reasonable period of time for the European Union to implement the recommendations and rulings of the Dispute Settlement Body (“DSB”) in the dispute European Communities – Definitive Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Iron or Steel Fasteners from China (WT/DS397) shall be 14 months and 2 weeks from the 28 July 2011 i.e. the date of adoption of the DSB recommendations and rulings,” according to a WTO memo.
Based on the agreement, the reasonable period of time expires on October 12, 2012.
The EU and China have been wrangling for months over implementation of a WTO determination that the EU’s 85% tariffs are illegal.
The agreement indicates the EU may lift or lower its tariffs to comply with the WTO’s decision.
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. ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com
The European Union has agreed to a timetable to address World Trade Organization concerns regarding Europe’s 85% tariffs on fastener imported from China, Fastener + Fixing Magazine reports.
The EU and China “have agreed that the reasonable period of time for the European Union to implement the recommendations and rulings of the Dispute Settlement Body (“DSB”) in the dispute European Communities – Definitive Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Iron or Steel Fasteners from China (WT/DS397) shall be 14 months and 2 weeks from the 28 July 2011 i.e. the date of adoption of the DSB recommendations and rulings,” according to a WTO memo.
Based on the agreement, the reasonable period of time expires on October 12, 2012.
The EU and China have been wrangling for months over implementation of a WTO determination that the EU’s 85% tariffs are illegal.
The agreement indicates the EU may lift or lower its tariffs to comply with the WTO’s decision.
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. ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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