The European Commission proposed on the 29th that an anti-dumping duty of one year will be imposed on energy-saving light bulbs produced in China, and will be automatically cancelled after expiration. As soon as this was done, it immediately attracted extensive criticism from all sides.
Purpose to help EU companies “smooth transitionâ€
European Commission spokesman Johannes Lettenberger said at a regular press conference that, considering the overall interests of the EU, the European Commission decided to recommend to the EU Council of Ministers that the above-mentioned anti-dumping measures that have now expired should be extended by another. year. He said that the main purpose of the above recommendations of the European Commission is to enable EU companies to achieve a "smooth transition" in a changing market situation.
Stephen Adams, the European Commission’s press officer for trade affairs, confirmed to this reporter that the European Commission decided that after the end of the “transition period†of one year, the anti-dumping measures would automatically end without further consideration. He said that the recommendations of the European Commission are pending approval before they can take effect. EU member states are expected to make a final decision within the next month, and the one-year period will be calculated from the date of the decision.
The EU has imposed anti-dumping duties on energy-saving light bulbs produced in China since 2001 for a period of five years. Just as the anti-dumping measures expired in July last year, the EU launched a 15-month investigation. During the investigation, the original anti-dumping measures still apply.
Importer consumer interests are impaired
On the issue of energy-saving light bulbs in China, the defects of the EU anti-dumping policy have once again become the target of criticism. They have been strongly criticized by EU importers and retailers, most energy-saving light bulb manufacturers and environmentalists.
At present, the major energy-saving bulb manufacturers in the EU, including Philips in the Netherlands, have factories in China and export their products to the EU to reduce costs. At present, a small number of companies such as Osram, a subsidiary of Siemens AG of Germany, have been actively lobbying to continue to impose anti-dumping duties on the grounds that importing energy-saving light bulbs may threaten EU employment. Most other EU energy-saving light bulb manufacturers hope to suspend anti-dumping duties.
According to Philips estimates, the company lost up to 20 million euros a year due to the EU's anti-dumping duties on energy-saving light bulbs produced in China. Philips criticized that continuing to impose anti-dumping duties is only a backward protectionist approach to safeguarding the short-term interests of a certain enterprise. The EU's consumer protection organizations also believe that the imposition of anti-dumping duties artificially raises the price of energy-saving light bulbs in the EU market and harms the interests of consumers.
In addition, the European Commission is also facing an important accusation on continuing to impose anti-dumping duties on China's energy-saving light bulbs, which is contrary to the EU's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy conservation. Earlier this year, the European Union proposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by 2020, while reducing energy consumption by 20%. Promoting energy-saving light bulbs and phasing out incandescent bulbs is one of the important measures. However, the EU's self-produced energy-saving light bulbs can only meet one-fourth of the market demand, and the rest must rely on imports.
Anti-dumping measures are not worth the loss
Since last year, the EU has been trying to review its anti-dumping policy, and the China energy-saving light bulb case once again highlights the debate on anti-dumping policies within the EU.
In recent years, as more and more EU companies move their production bases to developing countries such as China, where labor costs are lower, or extend the production supply chain overseas, the EU is gradually realizing that its anti-dumping measures are very large. Disadvantages, the result is often "spoiled" in the EU's less competitive enterprises, and damage the interests of EU multinational companies, and "running out" of cheap goods.
Because of this, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson presided over the release of a Green Paper in December last year to solicit public opinions and conduct the first large-scale assessment of trade policy including anti-dumping in 10 years. Its direct fuse is considered to be the EU's anti-dumping duty on leather shoes imported from China and Vietnam earlier last year. The outside world believes that Mandelson’s move is to use the “public opinion†to promote the adjustment of the EU’s anti-dumping policy, so as to pay more attention to the interests of EU companies and EU consumers engaged in transnational production. But unfortunately, the results of public consultation have not yet been released. From this point of view, Mandelson still has a lot of resistance to the "big surgery" of the EU anti-dumping policy.
1
Polarized Reflection Sensor,Polarized Reflection Photoelectric Sensor,Rectangular Repolarized Reflection Photoelectric Sensor
Photoelectric Sensor ,Light Curtain Sensor Co., Ltd. , http://www.zjelevatorparts.com