EU announces anti-dumping duties on Chinese alloy wheels, etc.

The European Union announced on October 28, 2010 that it is imposing anti-dumping duties on aluminum alloy wheels and sodium gluconate imported from China, and launched an anti-circumvention investigation on Chinese companies that are suspected of bypassing Malaysia’s export of fasteners to the EU to evade anti-dumping measures.

The EU announced these three trade remedy decisions in the official communique of the day. According to these decisions, the EU will formally impose an anti-dumping tariff of 22.3% on Chinese aluminum alloy wheels. The anti-dumping tariff rate on sodium gluconate is as high as 53.2%. Only two Chinese companies are subject to lower anti-dumping tariffs. The EU's formal anti-dumping measures usually last five years.

In August 2009, the European Commission launched an anti-dumping investigation against China's sodium gluconate and aluminum alloy wheels. This move has aroused serious concerns from China and has been opposed by many EU manufacturers.

The EU also announced on the same day that it had conducted an anti-circumvention investigation of Chinese fastener products to find out whether Chinese export companies had exported goods to the EU through Malaysia, thus avoiding the anti-dumping duties of the EU.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China has repeatedly stressed that the EU should not abuse trade remedy measures and encourage protectionism.