According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, China has protested the European Union's decision to impose anti-dumping duties on seamless steel pipe imported from China and expects the EU to end its anti-dumping investigation.
The European Commission announced on April 8 that it would impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese seamless steel pipe following the anti-dumping probe that the EU initiated on July 9, 2008.
The levies range from just over 15% for imports from Hubei Xinye Steel and Shangdong Luxing Steel Pipe to 24.2% for imports from other Chinese steel companies.
A representative from the Mofcom fair trade bureau is reported in local media as saying that the EU's decision to impose anti-dumping duties was made on the assumption that imports of these products from China might cause material injury or threats to EU interests and this sent a wrong signal to the industry.
The person added that China opposed trade remedy investigations, such as anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations, arguing that the imposition of anti-dumping duties under World Trade Organization rules, should be based on findings of material injury or threat, rather than on accusation and speculation.
According to WTO rules, anti-dumping complaints must include accurate and adequate evidence of dumping, injury and a causal link between the two elements.
The Mofcom representative is reported as saying that over the period of the investigation, the whole industry in Europe performed well and experienced no injury or threat. An that since supply reflected market demand and any increase of exports of Chinese products to Europe during a certain period was determined by market demand and should not be attributed to dumping.
Although the Mofcom gave no detailed figures for the actual values involved it was stated that exports of seamless steel pipe to Europe declined in 2008, especially after the slowdown in the global economy. In 2008, product exports fell by 13.18% although the value rose 14.5% year on year due to increases in commodity prices. In the first two months of this year, the volume fell by 43.48% and the value dropped by 29.1 percent.
The representative also said that world leaders attending the G20 summit had restated their opposition to trade protectionism and trade remedy measures.
According to the Mofcom China hopes that the EU will maintain an objective and fair stance when dealing with the case and make a decision according to WTO rules. China and the EU should enhance cooperation and consultations upon the issue, and create win-win result, according to the statement.
