The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday ruled against the European Union's (EU) imposition of tariffs on fasteners from China, as the country struggles to resolve a long-running dispute that analysts believe will set a precedent for other anti-dumping cases and improve transparency in the imposition process.
According to a statement issued Monday by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the WTO, for the second time, supported China's claims that the EU had violated world trade rules by imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese screws and bolts.
In January 2009, the EU imposed duties as high as 85 percent on Chinese imports of iron or steel fasteners, believing they were sold below cost in European markets, a practice also known as dumping.
WTO ruled against the EU in December 2010. The EU reduced the levies in 2012, but in some cases to only 74.1 percent. The EU's re-imposition prompted China to file a second complaint to the WTO in 2013.
Chen Fuli, a MOFCOM official, said on Monday at a press conference in Beijing that China has gone through all dispute processes in the case. He said the WTO's decision has "epoch-making significance."
This is not only a victory for the Chinese industry but for WTO rules as well, and the ruling has reinforced the confidence of WTO members in the multilateral trading system, experts said on Monday.
He Weiwen, an executive council member of the China Society for WTO Studies, said that the ruling shows China has become more mature in its interaction with other economies in global trade.
He added the ruling will prompt the EU to improve its transparency on the practice of reference price-related countries on anti-dumping probes into Chinese products in the future.
The market share of China's steel fasteners in the EU market plunged to 0.5 percent from 26 percent in 2008.
EU's tariffs affected up to $1 billion in steel fastener exports and more than 1,000 Chinese companies selling components widely used for cars, aviation manufacturing and machinery. The imposition also threatened the jobs of some 100,000 Chinese workers, according to MOFCOM.
Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times Monday that "these firms are expected to voice their demands, and the government should provide strong support to protect their global trade rights."
"It is competitiveness that is highlighted when Chinese companies expand their presence in the global market. They should improve sales through product quality, technology and services instead of merely focusing on price," Bai further noted.
The steel fastener is not the only product the EU slapped anti-dumping taxes on. In March 2015, the EU imposed taxes on cold rolling of stainless steel plates imported from China for six months, and the duties range from 10.9 percent to 25.2 percent, media reports said.
The steel fastener trade between China and the EU is expected to recover soon, MOFCOM said.
