By Martin Banks - 18th September 2008
The EU has been accused of ‘double standards’ on its anti-dumping policies in the trade sector.
Speaking in Brussels, a senior Chinese trade official called on the EU to to end its anti-dumping duties on leather footwear, denouncing the "hard" impact it has on local companies and employment. A similar move may be taken against Chinese steel fasteners.
Jeff More, of China's foreign trade and economic cooperation bureau, said the tax, which the EU slaps on imports it deems too low, affected the employment of millions of workers in China.
He said, “The EU and European industry constantly complain of the adverse impact Chinese imports have on the European market.
“But what we do not hear about are the countless European companies that relocate to China and export back to Europe. Yet these enterprises are not subject to any such ‘anti-dumping’ restrictions.
“It is unfair and we are appealing for such double standards to end.”
He criticised the EU for giving in to protectionist sentiment by imposing anti-dumping duties on imports.
His comments were echoed by a senior official at China's Mission to the EU who said, "The commission is set to decide whether to levy high duties against Chinese producers of another product steel fasteners. If the duty is established the export of this product to Europe will be effectively stopped, impacting on thousands of stakeholders in both China and Europe.
"We want a healthy trade relationship with the EU but this is not the way forward."
A commission official pointed out that the number of such duties currently in place covered a small proportion of total trade and remained low by historical standards.
More, director of the Fair Trade department, is part of a high-level Chinese trade delegation which on Thursday was due to hold discussions with the commission’s trade DG on the ‘anti-dumping’ and other trade issues between Beijing and the EU.
Others on the delegation include members of the Zhejiang province fastener manufacturers association, the biggest association of the product in China.
The meeting comes ahead of a visit to China next week by EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson who is expected to push Beijing to open more of its economy to foreign investment.
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