Tariff evasion claim groundless: expert

The European Union (EU)'s latest investigation into whether Chinese bicycle makers are using third countries to evade the EU's anti-dumping duties on bicycle imports from China is a typical case of EU's abuse of trade relief measures to protect its own manufacturers amid a gloomy economy, Chinese trade experts and bicycle makers said Thursday.

"In the global manufacturing sector today, there is an obvious division of labor across all countries. Bicycle manufacturing has its own industrial chain and it's normal that different components are made in different countries to minimize the cost," said Bai Ming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

"To simply say that Chinese bicycle makers are dodging EU's duties is unfair and obviously aimed at protecting manufacturers in Europe," he said.

The European Commission will launch an investigation into whether Chinese bicycle manufacturers have been evading the anti-dumping duties imposed by the EU through transshipment via Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia, the Commission said in the Official Journal of the EU Wednesday.

It will also investigate whether Chinese bicycle makers are getting around these duties by moving assembly operations of certain bicycle parts made in China to Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.

The case was filed by the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association on August 14.

According to the European Commission, the petitioner found evidence which showed a significant change in the pattern of trade involving exports from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia to the EU following the increase of the duties "without sufficient due cause or justification for such change."

"Our company has never attempted to evade duties imposed by the EU through transshipment or moving assembly operations to a third country. The company's exports to the EU have actually been reduced to a very low level given the anti-dumping duties the EU imposed years ago," Yan Youshu, a staff member at Giant Bicycles China, told the Global Times.

"The existing anti-dumping duties on Chinese bicycle imports are protectionist practices and in essence unreasonable. The latest probe into whether Chinese bicycle makers circumvent the EU anti-dumping measures is even more unreasonable and based on a wrong premise," he said.

The EU first levied anti-dumping duties on bicycle imports from China in 1993 and gradually increased the duties over the years. Last year, it increased the duties to up to 48.5 percent and announced to extend the period until 2014.

In April, the EU announced to launch a probe into whether to levy countervailing duties on bicycle imports from China.

The Ministry of Commerce could not be reached for comment Thursday. Back in April, the ministry said the charges against Chinese bicycle makers lodged by the EU lack evidence and the EU's launch of countervailing investigation into Chinese manufacturers after imposing anti-dumping duties for 19 years is a typical case of abuse of trade relief measures.

According to the ministry, China's exports to the EU only accounted for 2 or 3 percent of the EU market and could not pose damage to the European bicycle industry.