China urges EU to cancel long-standing lighter duty

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday urged the European Commission to cancel an anti-dumping duty that has been imposed on Chinese-made lighters for over two decades.

"We have noticed recent European media reports (on canceling the anti-dumping duty on Chinese-made lighters) and are waiting for a formal announcement from the European Commission," MOFCOM said in a statement sent to the Global Times Thursday.

Chinese lighters will finally be allowed to enter the European market free of any extra duties after over 20 years of being subject to EU anti-dumping measures, European affairs daily Europolitics reported Tuesday.

The duty on Chinese-made gas-fuelled, non-refillable flint lighters was first imposed in 1991. The European Commission is expected to announce a formal decision on whether it will extend the anti-dumping duty on December 12.

The European Commission should avoid the overuse of trade remedy measures, MOFCOM said, as it could hurt trade ties between China and the EU.

MOFCOM also noted that the European Commission should deal with other anti-dumping measures targeting Chinese-made products such as bicycles and silicon in an objective and fair way.