Press release - External/international trade
To deal with China’s recognition as a “market
economy”, the EU must find a solution, in line with WTO rules, that enables it
to maintain good relations with China whilst retaining its ability to shield
its economy against unfair competition from dumped Chinese imports. This view
was broadly shared by MEPs and EU trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström in a
plenary debate on Monday night.
MEPs and Ms Malmström discussed the three
options for EU action with respect to China:
no post-December 2016 changes in EU legislation which would put the EU in
breach of the WTO rules and prompt retaliation measures from China,
simply removing China from EU anti-dumping legislation would be
"unrealistic", said Ms Malmström, due to the potential damage to EU
industry and jobs, and
proposing an effective new antidumping instrument, which would enable the
EU to continue to meet its WTO obligations.
MEPs received a positive reply on Commission plans to thoroughly assess the
potential impact of all these options on EU jobs and industry. Ms Malström
presented a preliminary estimate of up to 77,000 job losses in EU sectors
currently affected by dumped Chinese exports, should no mitigating measures be
put in place.
MEPs agreed that the EU’s current method of calculating EU anti-dumping
duties needs to be changed and called for particular attention to be paid to
the EU steel sector, currently "on its knees" due to unfair
competition from China.
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