Brussels, 21/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - Whilst European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht asserts his firmness towards Beijing, Berlin is concerned about the impact of action taken by the European Commission against unfair Chinese competition.
China was not alone in being outraged last week (see EUROPE 10847) about the offensive launched by De Gucht against unfair Chinese competition - both in the photovoltaic sector and in that of telecommunications equipment. On the one hand, De Gucht proposed imposing heavy anti-dumping fines at the beginning of May on Chinese exports of solar panels (see EUROPE 10843), and on the other hand he announced in mid-May possible ex-officio investigations - in other words, investigations without a prior complaint from the European industry - antidumping and anti-subsidy investigations targeting Chinese telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE (see EUROPE 10846).
As the top European exporter to China, Germany has reacted with caution - both at government and industry level - to De Gucht's initiatives. In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, the German minister for the economy, Philipp Rösler, did not mince his words - the antidumping taxes against the Chinese photovoltaic sector in his eyes are “a serious error”. “(The Chinese reaction) shows that the sanction through taxing imports is not the right instrument (…) The German industry is concerned, and rightly so. I expect the Commission to do everything to prevent a trade war”, he added, calling on the European Commission to negotiate and talk to Beijing, rather than having recourse to threats (our translation). The same day, the powerful Federation of German industries (BDI) called for negotiations on the photovoltaic dossier and for all lasting conflict with China to be avoided. The previous day, the federation of German foreign trade (BGA) had warned against a trade war with China if no solution was found. This is a controversy that comes before the visit of the new Chinese prime minister, Li Keqiang, to Germany at the end of May. Germany's bilateral trade with China, worth €160 billion in 2012, represents 30% of EU-China trade. Although he will also visit Switzerland, Li will avoid Brussels.
De Gucht has asserted his firmness with regard to Beijing, taking care to name - for the first time on the 17 May - the two Chinese telecoms equipment makers that were challenged in his announcement of 15 May, Huawei and ZTE. On a visit to New York, De Gucht confirmed in an interview with Reuters that the Commission was ready to launch a formal investigation against the Chinese telecoms giants on the suspected violations of antidumping and anti-subsidy rules to protect a “strategic” sector for the European economy. This would be an investigation without the formal complaint from the European equipment makers Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Siemens Nokia Networks - which want to avoid Chinese retaliation. (EH/transl.fl)