"Small Screws" To Open The EU Trade Protection "Big Gate"

This is China's WTO international.

The Sino European fastener battle ended in China's victory.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled last Friday that the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel fasteners, such as screws and bolts.

The expert group of the World Trade Organization issued a ruling report in December 3rd.

According to the report, the "separate tax rate" provisions of the basic anti-dumping regulations of the European Union do not conform to the WTO rules, and point out that the EU is not calculating the dumping of Chinese goods at a price lower than domestic cost.

WTO believes that the EU's anti-dumping duties on China's imported fasteners and relevant provisions infringe on China's rights, and suggest that the EU adjust the relevant provisions in accordance with the WTO rules.

EU officials described WTO's decision as "a major failure of the European Union".

In order to compensate for its unfair competition, the EU has imposed a tariff of five years on steel fasteners imported from China (worth 575 million euros), involving 760 million US dollars in the whole country and 97 million USD in our city, involving 90 of the fastener production and trading enterprises in our city.

In the face of the European Commission's apparent violation of the WTO rules and the EU anti-dumping law, the city Fastener Association, under the support and guidance of the Municipal Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, appealed to the Ministry of Commerce to request the Chinese government to use the dispute settlement mechanism of WTO to standardize the investigation procedures of the European Commission and to stop the abuse of anti-dumping rules by the European Commission while increasing the negotiation with the European Union.

Under the impetus of the association, in July 31, 2009, the Chinese government sent a letter to the European Union's permanent WTO delegation through the permanent WTO delegation to initiate a WTO dispute settlement procedure on the request of the EU for the anti-dumping measures taken against the Chinese fasteners under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.

In October 23rd of the same year, the WTO dispute settlement body formally set up an expert group to hear the case.

In August 10, 2010, the WTO expert group issued a mid-term report that the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on our steel fasteners. The WTO expert group also condemned the EU's unfair anti-dumping duties imposed on Chinese screws and bolts.

The Financial Times said the ruling has strengthened China's strategy of increasing contacts with WTO and other international organizations.

China's Ministry of Commerce welcomed the ruling.

But John Clancy, a spokesman for the European Union Trade Commissioner (KarelDeGucht), said that the ruling was "a coexistence of success or failure" in JohnClancy.

He acknowledged that the EU's practice was ruled contrary to trade laws, but pointed out that both sides could lodge an appeal.

The director of the Fair Trade Department of the Municipal Bureau of foreign trade and economic cooperation said that both sides had 60 days of appeals. If the EU still failed to appeal, it would have to change tariffs on Chinese related imports, and its "anti-dumping" on China's anti-dumping duties would be untenable.

The official said that the ruling by WTO would force the EU to reconsider its anti-dumping duties policy, which is expected to rewrite EU tariff policy and provide references and standards for future handling of such cases.