The European Commission is very closely following the issue of the anti-dumping duties (of around 8%) that Colombia wants to impose on imports of European chips, and she says she is ready to take the case to the WTO if necessary.
"We will of course await the official announcement of the Colombian authorities. This will happen in the coming days, but we are preparing the legal analyses possibly to go to the WTO", European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said on Friday 9 November after Belgium and France raised the issue at the meeting of European trade commissioners in Brussels.
The exporting industries concerned are established in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, but the potato suppliers can be directly affected, including those of France.
"The European Commission has followed this Colombian anti-dumping procedure closely and has provided support and assistance to the European producers concerned", a Commission spokesperson confirmed, but "the EU has not yet received from Bogota the official confirmation of its decision".
While the volumes remain limited, it is mainly small and medium-sized enterprises that are affected on the European side. Beyond the economic impact these duties could engender for these SMEs, the European diplomats deplore the damage these measures could have on the European industry in terms of reputation. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)