EU Appeals WTO Ruling Against Duties on Chinese Steel Fasteners

28/03/2011 12:00 - 362 Views

The European Union appealed a World Trade Organization ruling saying the bloc’s method of applying extra duties on imports of Chinese iron or steel fasteners it considers to be unfairly priced breaks global trade law.

WTO judges ruled in December that the EU’s policy of imposing a single blanket duty on imports discriminates against Chinese exporters of the screws and bolts. The win was China’s first against the EU at the WTO. A European Commission spokeswoman said the bloc appealed the ruling in Geneva today.

The ruling quashed a key policy by the EU in dealing with imports from countries it deems not to be market economies, such as China, Vietnam and Cuba. Unless the Geneva-based WTO backs the EU appeal, the case may have broader implications by compelling the 27-nation bloc to start imposing anti-dumping tariffs on a company-by-company basis.

The initial WTO panel offered specific remedies for the EU to take on some points and declined to make recommendations on others.

Mar 25, 2011 6:53 PM GMT+0700
By Jennifer M. Freedman
Source: Bloomberg.com