China calls out EU for ‘abuse’ of anti-dumping tariffs in dispute over steel fasteners
- China’s fastener industry says EU anti-dumping probe relied on ‘fabricated’ information and fell short of legal due process
- EU says anti-dumping duties will ‘re-establish a level playing field’ by taking away the unfair competition caused by price dumping
A top Chinese industry body has lashed out at the European Union (EU) for its “abuse” of trade protection measures after it imposed tariffs on imports of steel fasteners from China.
The fastener branch with the China General Machine Components Industry Association issued a strongly worded protest on Sunday against the EU’s decision to impose anti-dumping duties of between 22.1 to 86.5 per cent on some Chinese products.
The Chinese association said the anti-dumping probe, which was initiated last December, had no factual grounding and fell short of legal due process.
“The EU industry lacks the qualification to back up its appeal … it has merely fabricated that China’s ordinary fasteners have hurt the EU’s high-end fastener industries,” the association said in a statement.
The statement said both markets are complementary and have huge potential for mutual benefit, while describing the duties as “irresponsible” and “biased”.
“We call again on the European side to respect facts [and] strengthen dialogue for a fair and reasonable solution,” the association said.
Fasteners, such as nuts, bolts and screws, are widely used in industries like aviation, car manufacturing, machinery and construction. China is the world’s largest producer of fasteners and a major exporter.
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China exported 4.9 million tonnes of fasteners in 2021, up 20.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to customs data. The figures marked a solid rebound from 2.1 per cent contraction in 2020.
The WTO ruled against the EU anti-dumping measures in favour of China in 2016.
“However, the European Union went against its promise and once again illegally abused anti-dumping protection measures after the fair adjudication of the WTO dispute,” the Chinese fastener association said on Sunday.
Zhao Yubo, chairman of the Hebei Fastener Industry Association, said the anti-dumping tariffs could inflict major damage.
“Our products lost price competitiveness after the anti-dumping tariffs [imposed in 2009] and our exports to the EU market dropped off a cliff,” Zhao told the South China Morning Post.
“We have hired trade lawyers and paper work is under way.”
The EU imported 207,946 tonnes of iron or steel fasteners in 2019, up 21.4 per cent from 171,152 tonnes in 2018, according to the European Commission.
Import volumes from China increased by 54 per cent between 2017-19 and remained relatively stable over the course of the anti-dumping investigation between July 2019 and June 2020.
Europe’s fastener market is worth €3.2 billion, with one tenth of products imported from China, according to the European Commission. The industry employs more than 20,000 workers across the bloc.
The EU said the anti-dumping duties will “re-establish a level playing field” by taking away the unfair competition caused by price dumping.
China’s ministry of commerce announced in June last year it would continue imposing anti-dumping tariffs on fasteners from EU and Britain, at rates between 5.5 per cent and 26.0 per cent.
