Expert: EU Imposing High Anti-Dumping Tariffs on China's Steel Damages Intrest of Both Sides

Anchor: The European Union has said it will levy a 24% anti-dumping duty on China's steel and wire rod industries for a period of five years.

Chinese experts say the EU's decision encourages protectionism and seriously damages the trade relationship between China and the EU.

Zhangcheng has this report:

A meeting of EU foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc approved without discussion a measure to impose a definitive anti-dumping duty of up to 24% on China's steel and wire rod industries earlier this week.

Yuan Gangming, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the measure stems from the global financial crisis.

"This measure is an act of protectionism. The EU's decision demonstrates that dampened by the financial downturn, European countries have stepped up efforts to boost domestic needs and have adopted protectionist measures to count out foreign competitors."

In 2008, the EU export volume to China increased from 26bln euros of 2000 to 78bln euros, while the import volume from China climbed to mearly 250bln euros from 75bln euros.

Since the EU and China presented a trade deficit, the EU has levied anti-dumping duties on a wide variety of products imported from China, ranging from shoes to steel.

Additionally, EU manufacturers charged China with limitation of raw material export and domestic cost decreases, which provided unfair opportunities for domestic steel enterprises.

Yuan Gangming says amid the global financial crisis, the EU's decision will slow the economies of both countries.

"This protective measure will hurt the interests of both sides. For China, the EU's decision will downplay the effectiveness of China's stimulus package. For EU members, the limitation of exports with low price and high quality from China, will force the steel prices up and increase the costs of local production."

The researcher notes anti-protectionism is paramount in helping the world recover from the crisis.

"At this critical moment, the EU should comply with the commitment, which was made at the G20 summit, to fight protectionism. The EU's protective measure is inappropriate at the moment and will only have a negative impact on the world economy."

Meanwhile, the Chinese Commerce Ministry Thursday voiced regret over the decision and said it hopes to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation before the decision is implemented.

Zhangcheng, CRI News.