EU Parliament's Amendment to Anti-Dumping Law Breaches International Rules, China Says
Xu Wei
DATE:  Nov 17 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
EU Parliament's Amendment to Anti-Dumping Law Breaches International Rules, China Says EU Parliament's Amendment to Anti-Dumping Law Breaches International Rules, China Says

(Yicai Global) Nov. 17 -- The amendment to the anti-dumping investigation procedures passed by the European Parliament (EP), one of the legislative bodies of the European Union (EU), fails to comply with all relevant international rules, and China reserves the right to resolve trade disputes under the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and will take necessary measures to safeguard Chinese enterprises' interests, said the spokesperson for China's ministry of commerce yesterday.

The new amendment adopted on Nov. 15 endorses the 'serious market distortion' principle and incorporates 'environmental and social dumping' considerations into anti-dumping inquires.

China has closely monitored the amendment of the anti-dumping rules, and communicated with the EU about its concerns several times, requesting that the EU fulfills all of its obligations under Clause 15 of the Protocol on China's Accession to the WTO, the ministry said on its website.

In the new amendment to anti-dumping rules, the EP abolished the 'list of non-market economies' but adopted the 'market distortion' principle, permitting the abandonment of prices in export countries and the use of third country prices or international prices to investigate if exports have been dumped into the EU market, under circumstances involving 'serious market distortions.' Such practices do not fully conform to relevant international rules, the ministry spokesperson noted.

The 'market distortion' principle does not exist in any WTO rules, and nor does the 'social and environmental dumping' concept, meaning that the new anti-dumping rules cannot be substantiated by WTO regulations.

The resulting additional uncertainty over the applicability of the laws will cause serious damages to the WTO's anti-dumping legal system, and the move has been questioned by a number of WTO members including China. The EU, as an important member of the World Trade Organization, should respect international rules, China's ministry of commerce said. The only way to protect the countries' common interests is to maintain the authority of the multilateral trade system. China urges the EU to fulfill all of its obligations under international treaties in good faith, in strict compliance with WTO rules. China reserves the right to resolve trade disputes under the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization, and will take actions to safeguard Chinese enterprises' interests when necessary, the spokesperson stressed.

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Keywords:   MOFCOM,European Union,Anti-Dumping Law of The European Union