LAGUNA HILLS, CA (BRAIN)—The European Commission is recommending that anti-dumping duties on Chinese bicycle imports into Europe continue for three years.
In its review of anti-dumping measures, the Commission found price undercutting after deducting anti-dumping duties of 53 percent on Chinese imports, which is the same level of undercutting as found during the 2005 interim review. The dumping margin, however, has decreased from 48.5 percent to more than 20 percent. Both in 1993 and 2005, the duties were set on the basis of the dumping margin. The level of duties to be introduced for the next three years is not yet known.
The extension of measures following an expiry review would normally apply for five years, unless there are specific reasons for a shorter period. The Commission refers to the fact that the EU bicycle industry is largely using the exemption for imports of bicycle parts. This requires regular re-examination, and to allow for this the Commission proposes to limit the anti-dumping measures to three instead of five years.
The Commission said in its report that it's convinced that the existing anti-dumping measures have had a clear effect on bike producers in the European Union, allowing them to maintain a stable market share. Nevertheless, their production decreased and profit margin remained insufficient. It concluded that any possibility for further growth and profits has been undermined by the price and volume pressure of dumped imports.
