Fasteners Reap New Hope for European Exports Shaoxing Wants to Recapture Market

The EU may cancel anti-dumping measures for fasteners in advance. This lawsuit finally won! Yesterday, Liu Xing of Shaoxing Grace International Trading Co., Ltd. learned from the statistics monitoring and early warning personnel at Shaoxing Customs that the WTO Appellate Body finally ruled that EU anti-dumping measures against Chinese fasteners were in violation of regulations. After two years, China won the WTO. Organize the first case of suing the EU. This news is undoubtedly a big plus for this company engaged in import and export trade. Liu said that in the second half of the year, the company will change its business strategy in a timely manner and start an offensive to regain its previously lost share in the EU market as soon as possible.

Fasteners such as screws, nuts, and bolts were once one of the traditional commodities exported to the EU by Shaoxing City. However, in 2009, the export enterprises in Shaoxing, like many domestic companies, suffered from the EU’s “combat”. On January 31, 2009, the European Union suddenly announced a five-year anti-dumping final ruling on steel fasteners made in China and imposed anti-dumping duties of 26.5% to 85% on them. According to the news, 123 Chinese companies immediately participated in the suit, but in the end none of them received market economy treatment.

In 2008, the export value of fasteners exported from Shaoxing to Europe was 2.34 million U.S. dollars. After the EU imposed anti-dumping duties, the value of the industry’s exports quickly fell to 990,000 U.S. dollars in 2009, a drop of 57.7%.

This prolonged lawsuit finally won! However, its significance is not limited to this. Shaoxing Customs staff said: “This is a major victory for China in the WTO dispute settlement. It can be said that this ruling has opened up a gap in the anti-dumping of the EU.”

It is understood that the final determination of the fastener case found that the EU's "Anti-dumping Basic Regulations" violated the WTO's "Anti-Dumping Agreement". In other words, the EU's collection of "separate tax rates" for China's export products is untenable and must be revised. “In other words, in the future, the EU will not be able to continue to adopt a “one-size-fits-all” approach to anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese exports. This will help Chinese exporters anti-dumping and responding.” It is understood that many industries and many companies in Shaoxing are currently suffering. The EU's anti-dumping efforts are struggling with the Western countries.

Aluminum alloy wheels and polyester high-strength yarns are the major export items of Shaoxing. The two countries only exported 34.2 million US dollars and 42.55 million U.S. dollars to the EU last year. However, at the end of last year, the EU made anti-dumping final rulings on these two products and began to impose high anti-dumping duties. Shaoxing companies headed by Wanfeng and Guxian Road were involved. Although the two companies actively participated in the defense, the results were not satisfactory. "The WTO final ruling on fasteners may not only cancel the anti-dumping measures against fasteners in the EU in advance, but also the industry including aluminum alloy hubs and high-strength polyester yarns may usher in a light."