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BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Trade: Ironing board producer sues EU over anti-dumping tariffs

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-10 15:04

A Chinese company which exports ironing boards to European Union
countries has filed a lawsuit against the EU over anti-dumping tariffs.

Cheng Huazhen, general manager of the Huahe Hardware Company based in
east China's Zhejiang Province, said the EU imposed the tariffs according
to incorrect investigation results.

The lawsuit was filed to the EU court of first instance, and the court
has accepted the lawsuit, Li Shengjing, a lawyer representing the firm
said.

In February last year, the European Commission of the EU launched an
anti-dumping investigation into the company. The commission denied market
economy status of the company and imposed a 25-percent anti-dumping
tariff later in the year after finding the company's finance system not
conforming with international accounting standards.

Cheng insisted their company was up to the standards and filed plea to
the commission. In February this year, the EU granted market economy
status to the company and cut the anti-dumping rate to 3.1 percent.

But one month later, the commission revoked the company's economic status
in an amended document, and raised the anti-dumping rate to 26.5 percent
in April, Cheng said.

The lawyer representing the firm said the EU also cut short the time for
the company to launch a counterplea.

In January this year, five Chinese shoemakers from Zhejiang, Taiwan and
Hong Kong filed lawsuits against the European Union's anti-dumping
tariffs, claiming that the EU didn't routinely and impartially review the
companies before meting out the tariffs.

Industry analysts say the case the shoemakers launched could last two to
four years and cost up to 2 million yuan (US$255,750).

Huahe Hardware Company was set up in 2004 in Kaihua County of western
Zhejiang. Its annual output value is about 50 million yuan (US$6.5
million), most products are for export to the EU.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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