On Wednesday 18 April, the Chinese electronic bicycle industry rejected allegations of dumping on the European market, stressing their contribution to sustainable mobility and calling on the EU not to penalise consumers by imposing anti-dumping duties on their products.
At a hearing arranged by the European Commission on its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations launched in autumn 2017 into e-bikes imported from China (see EUROPE 11874, 11931), the China Chamber of Commerce for Imports and Exports of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) presented the key elements of the Chinese manufacturers' defence.
It argues that the choice of Switzerland as an analogue country is inappropriate and does not provide for a fair comparison for the calculation of dumping, in view of the differences in the level of economic development, cost of production and e-bike market segment (Switzerland mostly sells high-end products) between Switzerland and China.
The imposition of anti-dumping duty would damage the European industry, which is dependent on imports of parts from China, as well as European consumers, by reducing price choice and driving prices up, which would impede the development of clean mobility.
The CCCME also stresses that according to recent figures from the EU industry, the production and sales revenue from e-bikes has been constantly growing over the past years, which makes the existence of a material injury highly implausible.
It also casts doubt on the eligibility of some of the countries supporting the complaint, as the EU e-bike industry includes importers of the products under investigation.
Finally, it states that the Chinese e-bike industry is not in a situation of overcapacity, adding that export volumes are customised and based on EU demand, while more than 95% of Chinese e-bikes are sold to the domestic market. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)