The EU Has Launched A Double Anti Investigation &Nbsp, China Or Appeal WTO.

Trade frictions between China and Europe are becoming more and more intense.

Following May 14th European Union Decides to impose a high value on the coated paper originating in China. Anti-dumping After countervailing duty, China's Ministry of Commerce announced the preliminary results of countervailing investigations on Imported Potato Starch originating from the EU in May 16th.

According to our reporter's understanding, the amount of money involved in the two cases is not high and is controlled at around us $100 million. But in this case, the EU's trade remedy measures have attracted the attention of the industry, and the EU is continuing to use anti-dumping. relief At the same time, countervailing investigations were also launched. The EU did not use anti subsidy to non market economy countries in the past. In March 12th, the WTO appellate body just ruled that the "double reverse" measures adopted by the US Department of Commerce for Chinese tires, composite woven bags and two other steel pipes violated the rules of WTO.

In May 16th, a lawyer who took part in the research and consultation of the Ministry of Commerce introduced that the reason why the survey was so furious for the Chinese side was that the EU ignored WTO's ruling just now.

According to the number of respondents, the double anti investigation is highly infectious. It is expected that following India, Turkey and other countries will follow the EU's investigation on coated paper and other commodities. As China's largest trading partner, the EU's opening of the "double reverse" survey on China may mean that more goods exported to Europe will suffer.

Is the trade war between China and Europe at risk? Respondents believe that the situation is still within the scope of WTO control, and the amount involved is relatively limited, far from the extent of the outbreak of trade war. It is expected that the two sides will remain relatively restrained.

First round confrontation

In May 14th, the European Union announced that it would levy a 4%-12% countervailing duty on China's imports of coated paper and 8%-35.1%'s anti-dumping duties.

Among them, 6 Chinese enterprises with compulsory examination papers, Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings Ltd and Shandong Shouguang Chenming Art Paper Co., Ltd. received 4% countervailing duty rates, but the anti-dumping decision rates of the two enterprises were as high as 35.1%. Jiangsu Zhenjiang Jindong paper Limited by Share Ltd and Jiangsu jinhuasheng paper industry (Suzhou Industrial Park) Co., Ltd. carried out 12% countervailing duty rates and 8% anti-dumping duty rates; other enterprises applied 12% countervailing duty rates and 27.1% anti-dumping duties.

The EU provoked "double anti" investigation of China or appeal WTO

The duration of such duties is 5 years.

Zhao Wei, Secretary General of the China Paper Association, accused the EU of abusing trade remedy measures. He said that enterprises had already questioned the EU's collection of the third party comparison countries' data when they decided to anti-dumping, and the data were believed to be mostly from the United States' previous double anti investigation data on China's coated paper. The United States had previously chosen India as a comparison country.

Chinese enterprises have also defended the hope that although the EU does not recognize China's market economy status, it should admit the market position of the coated paper industry. "This industry has no government subsidy from the whole chain of procurement and pricing, and has achieved a high degree of marketization." Zhao Wei said.

But the EU did not accept the above recommendations.

China's largest paper product exporter, golden light paper (China) Investment Co., has disagreed with the European side. The lawyer said that the relevant analysis is unfair, because the EU in the assessment of the complaint, take the real estate prices in the Taiwan area as a measure of China's housing prices.

Sun paper, a listed company of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is also one of the 6 enterprises in the EU compulsory paper. Its export department has said that the company's current export to the EU and the United States has basically stagnated. The company exported approximately $one hundred million of coated paper to the US every year before the European and American counter investigations, and also had a small amount of exports to the EU.

"Output has not decreased," the source said, and more output was finally released in the domestic market, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Taiwan. China coated paper had occupied only 5% of the European market.

According to customs statistics, 1-2 and 881 tons and 567 tons of exports to the European Union and the United States respectively decreased by 97.7% and 97.9% respectively.

China's subsequent counterattack locked the EU's agriculture. In May 16th, China's Ministry of Commerce announced the initial results of the countervailing investigation of Imported Potato Starch originating from the European Union. The premium rate of French premium was 7.70%. The premium rate of the ad valorem subsidy of the Holland company and the German potato starch factory was 11.19%, and its ad valorem subsidy rate of the EU company was 11.19%.

In April 19th, China's Ministry of Commerce began to impose anti-dumping duties of 12.6% to 56.7% on Imported Potato Starch originating from the European Union.

Zhou Qingfeng, vice president of China Starch Industry Association, told reporters that the investigation started in 2009 and filed on 2010. The survey found that there were more than 10 government subsidies to the whole chain of potato starch exported from China from cultivation to processing to export.

"The price of potato starch that directly led to the sale of EU enterprises in China is surprisingly low. "He said that the price of the potato starch in the EU was $430 / ton during the survey period in 2009, and the selling price in China was 3700 yuan / ton, while the selling price of Chinese enterprises was as high as 6300 yuan / ton.

Calculating the cost of European Union enterprises, it can be found that the cost of potato starch from planting to the EU is about 800 euro / ton. "They can't make money without relying on government subsidies." Zhou Qingfeng said.

EU trade remedy measures change

Carlos de kutt, the trade commissioner who took office in 2010, is considered to be the promoter of the EU trade remedy approach, which is more forceful than his predecessor, Mandelson.

In the case of coated paper, the EU first introduced punishment measures to China on the grounds of what it called the government's use of illegal subsidies to boost industries. The EU has always relied on more widely adopted anti-dumping measures, that is, a company exports products at below cost.

The EU's practice is considered to follow the United States. The US Department of Commerce has already imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 7.60%-135.83% to China, and a countervailing duty of 17.64% to 178.03%.

According to Zhou Shijian, executive director of the China WTO Research Association, according to the WTO appeals agency's March decision on dual anti-dumping cases such as Sino US tires, WTO is actually recognizing that the countervailing relief measures applicable to the market economy status countries should not be used in China while not recognizing China's market economy status. Second, WTO recognized that two trade remedy measures should not be taken for the same commodity at the same time: anti-dumping and countervailing.

The lawyers who participated in the investigation said that according to the rules of WTO, the United States' defeat means that the United States must adjust its dual tax rate before the deadline, otherwise it means that China can submit a retaliatory list to WTO. "This will be a legitimate and legitimate trade reply."

He said that the EU's double counter investigation of coated paper is expected to be appealed to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism in China. Because of the precedent precedent, China's chances of winning the trade dispute between China and Europe in the coated paper trade are great.

Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, said that China will carefully study and assess the final ruling of the EU coated paper and reserve the right to take corresponding measures according to law. He accused the European Union of discriminating against unfair and "substitute countries" in its anti-dumping investigations against China, while insisting on discriminatory and unfair "alternative countries". It also insisted on launching countervailing investigations against Chinese products, and offering anti-dumping and countervailing double relief to the same product at the same time, contrary to the WTO rules.

Zhou Shijian pointed out that the current anti subsidy investigations in Europe and America are mainly focused on land use and financing in China. They believe that Chinese enterprises get land from local governments at a low price, and state owned enterprises get preferential loans from state controlled banks.

But the EU also has a subsidy tradition in agriculture and other fields. Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, CO director of the European Centre for international political and Economic Affairs (ECIPE) of the Brussels think-tank, said Carol de Gu Hutt's approach was unwise. Europe has invested a lot of government subsidies in its agriculture and other industries. Makiyama Hiroshi,

He said there are more such cases. "A new trade war is about to break out." In a recent article on paper, he wrote that he expected both sides to face disastrous consequences.