EU to wait later on China’s market status
Print Edition
THE European Union said it would wait until later this year to decide if China should finally be considered a real market economy.
China wants the designation from the EU as it campaigns to win over the 162-country World Trade Organization.
“We will come back to it later because the (commission) president very clearly concluded that this issue has to be looked at from all important angles given the subject’s importance for international trade, but also for the EU’s economy,” European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said on Wednesday after a special debate on the issue.
The question should be put back on the table sometime in the second half of 2016, he added.
Crucially, winning market economy status would allow China to use its own calculations when fighting off accusations lodged at the WTO that it dumps cheap exports onto the world market at far below domestic prices.
There are 52 anti-dumping measures in force against China in the EU, mainly covering key industries steel, mechanical engineering, chemicals and ceramics, EU data showed.
Brussels is caught in a bind between satisfying its second-biggest trade partner and taking a step that would make it more difficult for member countries to use tariffs to protect their domestic businesses.
China was given 15 years to come up to scratch and allow market forces free rein.
China says WTO statutes mean that it should automatically get the change at the end of the year and the EU is trying to study whether it will agree.
“There is no automatic decision in favor of China,” a European source said, adding that the matter would be approached carefully.
European manufacturers across the board insist on maintaining the status quo, a stance supported by the United States and Canada.
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