Investigations into the subsidies given by foreign countries on
exports to China will be conducted, in line with new guidelines
from January 15.
The new rule will also affect how the State Economic and Trade
Commission (SETC) decide
whether or not Chinese industry has been substantially damaged by
particular subsidies.
Li
Rongrong, minister of the commission, signed the new rule in
mid-December and announced its introduction late last week.
In
cases involving agricultural products, the commission will carry
out investigations and make their judgments in collaboration with
the Ministry of Agriculture.
Rulings on the cause-and-effect relationship between subsidies and
damages will be based on the effects of the subsidies on trade, the
quantities and prices of subsidized imports and their effects on
Chinese industries, the foreign countries' exports, production
capacity and stock, among other factors.
In
respect of farm products, judgments will also take into account
whether subsidized imports have put the government support plan
under pressure.
Chinese producers, importers, purchasers and end users, as well as
foreign producers and exporters are all open to scrutiny.
Under the new rule, investigations can be terminated at the request
of applicants, when there is insufficient evidence to prove a
cause-and-effect relationship, when the amount of imports and
actual and potential damages are insignificant, when agreements are
reached with foreign governments after negotiations, or when the
commission decides that halting the investigation would be for the
public good.
Anti-subsidy taxes are effective for no more than five years, but
Chinese industries will be able to ask for particular cases to be
reviewed 20 days before the taxes are due to expire.
Since China joined the World Trade Organization in December 2001,
it has issued a series of laws and rules on anti-dumping,
anti-subsidy and safeguard measures.
In
another development, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic
Cooperation (MOFTEC) Monday
announced that it would levy temporary anti-dumping taxes of 5 to
38 percent on caprolactam imports from Japan, Belgium, Germany, the
Netherlands and Russia.
It
also decided to take temporary anti-dumping measures against
imports of purified anhydride acid from South Korea, India and
Japan, imposing taxes of 14 to 66 percent.
Temporary anti-dumping measures in the two cases take effect from
today. The MOFTEC and SETC will continue to make investigations
into them, according to MOFTEC sources.
(China Daily January 7, 2003)