Brussels, 11/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to reexamine the antidumping measures it applies to from China and Thailand. A representative of an EU company provided the Commission with sufficient proof to justify suspicions that the dumping will continue or be started up again and cause damage if the definitive measures (which have been imposed since April 1996) are not extended once they expire.
According to the European Union Committee to defend the end-to-end soldered steelware industry (which represents more than 70% of total Community manufacture of steelware), Thai deliveries have continued to subject to sizeable dumping although dumping practices have not been detected for imports from China where the volumes are much smaller. In an opinion published in the Official Journal (C103), the European Commission notes that it has been submitted evidence with respect to the re-emergence of dumping practices, showing that the product concerned is exported throughout the world by the two countries at very low prices around the dumping level. The Committee points out that if the antidumping measures were to expire, exports to the Community are likely to increase, given unused production capacity in both China and Thailand and the fact that the antidumping measures stop them having access to traditional outlets other than the European Union (the United States). The Committee also notes that the Chinese attempts to get round the Community measures demonstrate that the country has a structural bent towards dumping. The Committee also signalled that the situation in the EU industry is still precarious and could get worse under the pressure of new imports under dumping conditions.