EU sets textile duties in anti-dumping move
By Jiang Jingjing
Updated: 2005-09-22 08:58

The European Union (EU) has announced that it will impose anti-dumping duties on some finished polyester filament fabrics from China, with the duties ranging from 14.1 per cent to 56.2 per cent, according to the EU's official journal.

The journal listed anti-dumping duties for 45 Chinese textile enterprises, most of which are subject to duties of 14.1 per cent or 37.1 per cent.

Wujiang Canhua Import and Export Co Ltd will face a tariff of 56.2 per cent.

The anti-dumping duty will last for five years.

The EU's decision was made after a nine-month investigation, which concluded that some finished polyester filament fabrics from China have affected the EU market.

The output and market share of European products dropped by 20 per cent in the EU market from April 2003 to last March, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

Xinhua quoted the EU's investigation as saying that Europe's demand for polyester filament fabrics remained stable for the whole period at around 732 million running metres, while China's exports of the product to the EU grew from 135 million running metres in 2000 to 288 million running metres during the investigation period.

"The anti-dumping duty of 56.2 per cent will put an end to exports from that Chinese enterprise to Europe," said Sun Huaibin, spokesman for the China Textile Industry Council.

Other tariffs will also have a huge impact on the affected Chinese firms, Sun said.

He went on to say that the profit levels for Chinese textile enterprises are already very low, caused by the revaluation of the Renminbi, and the increasing cost of energy, raw materials and labour.

"These enterprises are facing a very difficult situation," Sun said.

The EU first made dumping charges on March 15 this year, which resulted in protests from Chinese producers. These firms submitted an application to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce to appeal against the ruling at the World Trade Organization.

The EU's preliminary decision levied duties of 20 per cent on 25 enterprises granted market economy status, and duties ranging from 26.7 per cent to 85.3 per cent on another 31 firms.

(China Daily 09/22/2005 page9)