The China Association of Lighting Industry (CALI) on Friday
warned members against being over optimistic that the European
Commission (EC) will scrap the six-year-old anti-dumping duties on
Chinese-made energy-efficient light bulbs in September.
"It's not accurate to say that the European Union (EU) has
decided to lift the duties in October," warned CALI
director-general Chen Yansheng, referring to the date when the
tariffs are due to expire.
The EU imposed anti-dumping duties of up to 59.6 percent on
energy-efficient light bulbs imported from eight Chinese
manufacturers in 2001, and other Chinese producers were hit with
duties up to 66.1 percent.
The duties were set to be in effect from July 2001 to July 2006,
but the EU launched an anti-dumping investigation into the
Chinese-made light bulbs when they expired in 2006 as some European
lighting producers said the Chinese products were being sold below
cost in the European market.
"Discussions on the proposal began at the beginning of the year
with voices from both sides. More have been calling for lifting of
the duties recently, but the opponents are standing their ground,"
Chen said.
Chen said China produced 80 percent of the world's energy-saving
light bulbs, and exported light bulbs worth 1.5 billion US dollars
in 2006.
Many Chinese manufacturers had given up on the European market
with the heavy anti-dumping duties in place, but some had said they
would explore the European market again if the duties were
lifted.
However, Chen warned Chinese manufacturers against over optimism
even if the EU scrapped the duties, and urged them to improve the
quality of their products in order to meet technological standards
set by the EU.
EU commissioner Peter Mandelson, who recommended the proposal,
and other supporters want to lift the punitive tariffs out of
concern over environmental protection, energy efficiency and
consumer demand.
The EC said the duties had resulted in European customers paying
60 percent more for their light bulbs.
The environmental group Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) said
energy-saving light bulbs used only 20 percent of the energy
consumed by traditional bulbs, which would help reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.
The EU has pledged to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent
by 2020. The use of power for domestic lighting would fall by 60
percent if energy-efficient bulbs replaced traditional lights,
according to the EC.
The WWF called on the EU in June to live up to its environmental
reputation by scrapping duties on Chinese made energy-saving light
bulbs.
In the discussion held at the end of July, the majority of the
EU member countries indicated they would support the proposal.
Analysts said the opposition from Germany, home to Osram, the
biggest maker of energy-saving light bulbs in the EU, however,
could bring some weak-minded smaller member countries to change
their position.
Osram, part of the Siemens group, had sought to prolong the
duties, claiming below-cost Chinese imports were unfair to European
manufacturers and hundreds of jobs were at risk.
(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2007)
