Friday July 31, 03:47 PM
China requests EU talks in fastener trade dispute
GENEVA (AFP) - China on Friday asked the European Union for talks under the first stage of a World Trade Organization disputes procedure over EU measures on imports of Chinese-made screws and bolts.
A source close to the WTO confirmed that the global trade watchdog had been notified of the request.
The move marked an escalation in the dispute following a final European Commission decision in January to go ahead with hefty anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made fasteners.
If the direct talks fail to resolve the spat within 60 days, under world trade rules China can ask an independent WTO dispute settlement panel to examine and rule on the case.
The Chinese mission to the WTO said in a statement that it had been instructed "to send an official letter to the EC Delegation to the WTO, making a formal request for consultation under the WTO dispute settlement procedure concerning the anti-dumping measures taken by the EC against the import of fasteners originating from China.
"The Chinese side believes that the EC authorities concerned in the foregoing investigations failed to comply with the relevant WTO rules in the process," it added.
In one of the biggest anti-dumping cases against China, the EU decided after an investigation to impose levies on imports of some Chinese fasteners, ranging from 26.5 percent to as high as 85 percent.
China retaliated by launching its own anti-dumping probe into imports of screws and bolts made in the European Union.
China is the world's biggest producers of screws, bolts and washers and the European Union is its biggest market, taking 575 million euros (762 million dollars) worth of fasteners in 2007, according to the Jiaxing Association of Chinese Fastener Producers.
In Brussels, a European Commission trade affairs spokesman said the EU had taken note of China's request, but that Brussels stood by the anti-dumping move.
"Anti-dumping measures are not about protectionism, they are about fighting unfair trade," said spokesman Lutz Guellner.
"The decision to impose measures was taken on the basis of clear evidence that unfair dumping of Chinese products has taken place with state distortion of raw material prices.
"This is harming the otherwise competitive EU industry, with potentially dire long term effects," he said.
If the direct talks fail to resolve the spat within 60 days, China can ask an independent WTO dispute settlement panel to examine and rule on the case.
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