BRUSSELS, Feb 7 — The European Union has sharply increased tariffs on imports of ceramic plates, cups, bowls and other table and kitchenware from China after a review of anti-dumping measures in place since 2013.
The 27-nation bloc will apply a blanket 79 per cent duty on the products, replacing previous duties that had ranged from 13.1 per cent to 36.1 per cent, a filing in the EU official journal yesterday said.
The hike is among a series of steps the EU has taken to counter what it said are unfair Chinese business practices, straining already tense economic relations. Of the 63 trade investigations the European Commission is conducting, 47 involve products from China.
The commission said Chinese ceramics producers were owned, controlled or guided by authorities, receiving preferential financing, land and raw materials. The EU executive constructed “normal” costs for raw materials, labour and energy using Turkish data as a reference and concluded that Chinese producers were exporting at artificially low prices.
The revised tariff will apply for the next five years.
Cerame-Unie, the EU ceramics industry group that requested the review, said the measures are vital to protect manufacturers of tableware and ornaments that directly employ more than 30,000 people.
