Energy-saving lamps displayed at the Dongfang Jiayuan Lighting Products Market in Yuquanying, Beijing. The European Union launched an investigation into the possible circumvention of its anti-dumping measures imposed on imports of energy-saving lamps originating in China on September 8. (newsphoto)

Experts warned against local enterprises giving the cold shoulder to an anti-circumvention initiated by the European Union (EU) after only one company responded to the case.

They believed the measure, something new in China, will have a bigger impact than expected, as more China's companies invest in overseas assembly and export through a third country.

According to the China Association of Lighting Industry (CALI), only Xiamen Donglin submitted its documents by yesterday, the deadline for answering the EU anti-circumvention investigation against Chinese producers of integrated electronic compact fluorescent lamps (CFL-i), also known as energy-saving lamps.

The EU launched the investigation into the possible circumvention of its anti-dumping measures imposed on imports of energy-saving lamps originating in China on September 8 this year.

The EU has imposed an anti-dumping duty of 66.1 per cent on Chinese CFL-i since July 20, 2001.

The EU received a request to initiate the proceeding on August 16, 2004 from Lighting Industry and Trade in Europe (LITE) on behalf of producers and importers of CFL-i in the EU.

The request claimed Chinese producers circumvented the anti-dumping duties by means of trans-shipment via Viet Nam, Pakistan or the Philippines or by assembly in Viet Nam, Pakistan or the Philippines.

The EU industry body said imports of the products under investigation had increased substantially, whereas imports originating in China had decreased following the imposition of anti-dumping measures.

The commission sent questionnaires to interested parties, who were required to contact the commission by September 25 and provide all information by October 20, 2004.

Liu Shengping, CALI secretary-general, said China's energy-saving lamp industry will lose a market share worth US$200 million in Europe if they lose the lawsuit .

"Once the verdict of circumvention is made, China will no longer be able to export through production in a third country," he said.

He expected domestic enterprises to suffer major losses if they lose the case, with about 100 enterprises expected to go bankrupt.

Zhejiang Sunshine Lighting Inc and China National Electronics Import & Export Corp, two other companies involved, are planning to shut down their overseas plants.

Liu said Chinese companies have already suffered from anti-dumping duties imposed by the EU.

The EU launched an anti-dumping investigation against Chinese energy-saving lamps in 2000 and imposed the anti-dumping duties in 2001.

Half of Chinese energy-saving lamp enterprises went bankrupt in that year, which cut the number of these enterprises from 4,000 to around 2,000, and then to around 1,400 in 2002, Liu said.

China became the world's largest producer and exporter of energy-saving lamps in 1998 and changed the structure of the world market, which was monopolized by Philips, GE and Siemens-Osram.

Zhang Hanlin, an expert on trade and World Trade Organization rules, said Chinese companies should prepare more for anti-circumvention cases.

He believed such cases will have an increasingly negative impact on China's foreign trade.

"Five years ago, few companies understood anti-dumping issues and many suffered as a result. The situation regarding anti-circumvention is similar," he said.

China has been the biggest victim of anti-dumping measures.

Zhang expected Chinese enterprises may be subject to more anti-circumvention investigations over the next few years as more establish overseas manufacturing bases.

"And few of them have any idea about circumvention," he said.

Circumvention means evading anti-dumping duties by supplying the products from third countries.

The added value created in the third countries is a key element in judging the anti-circumvention case.

The producers are accused of offering products with an added value exceeding 25 per cent when assembling in the third countries, Zhang said.

(China Daily)

cold shoulder : a refusal to recognize someone you know（冷淡，輕視）

lawsuit: an action at law; a suit in equity or admiralty; any legal proceeding before a court for the enforcement of a claim（訴訟）