24/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - On 20 August, the European Commission published in the Official Journal of the EU (JO L 219) a regulation in which it announces the launch of an investigation into plastic bags from China, which are suspected of being imported by a Chinese company to avoid anti-dumping duty. The Commission believes that there is evidence suggesting that a number of Chinese plastic bag manufacturers have exported their products via the company Xiamen Xingxia Polymers Co., Ltd, a producer based in the south of the Chinese province of Fujian. The EU has had anti-dumping measures in place since 2006, for a duration of five years, against Chinese imports of plastic bags. By virtue of these measures, several Chinese plastic bag manufacturers have faced anti-dumping customs duty of 28.8%, whilst hundreds of others, including Xingxia, enjoy a relatively low tariff of 8.4%. The Commission has nine months to complete its investigation. (L.C./transl.fl)