Chinese Mandarin - EU extends anti-dumping duties on Chinese light bulbs

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BIZCHINA / Top Biz News

EU extends anti-dumping duties on Chinese light bulbs

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-30 15:23

Chinese energy-saving light bulbs may face anti-dumping measures from the
European Union (EU) for one more year as the European Commission made a
compromised proposal on Wednesday.

The EU's executive body agreed to the one-year extension of the
six-year-old duties when its commissioners held their first meeting after
the summer break. As a compromise, the anti-dumping measures will end
automatically after the extension.

"Following discussions within the commission and with member states the
commission will recommend that it is in the community's interest to
discontinue these measures in the next year," the commission said in a
press release.

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The proposal, which had to be approved by EU member states, was put
forward in accordance with the overall interests of the EU, commission
spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told reporters at a daily news briefing.

"There are grounds to leave the possibility of continuing these
anti-dumping measures for another year, mainly to allow for a soft
transition in a changing market reality" for the European industry, he
said.

Stephen Adams, the press officer for EU Trade Commissioner Peter
Mandelson, confirmed with Xinhua that the one-year extension was meant to
provide a transition period, after which the anti-dumping duties will be
dropped automatically without the need for further review.

The one-year extension is started once the approval of member states is
made, probably within one month, said Adams.

The EU has imposed an anti-dumping tariff of up to 66 percent on
energy-saving light bulbs from China since 2001, which was due to expire
in July 2006.

However, the EU later conducted an expiration review amid requests by
industry to determine whether to prolong the tariffs for another five
years.

During the review period, which lasts 15 months after the expiration and
is set to end this October, the anti-dumping measures remain in force.

Whether to extend the anti-dumping duties against Chinese energy-saving
bulbs has led to heated debate within the EU.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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