Chinese paper makers have responded to an anti-dumping charge from the United States which claimed it will slap heavy tariffs on certain tissue and crepe paper imports, said officials with China Paper Association.

Seventy-four Chinese paper companies are involved in the case in which suitors requested anti-dumping tariffs of 110.5 percent on tissue paper and 185.9 percent on crepe paper, said the association.

"Some Chinese paper makers have hired lawyers and are ready to respond to the suit," said Zhao Wei, secretary general of the association.

The US Department of Commerce announced late last week that it will investigate certain Chinese-made tissue and crepe papers under suspicion of dumping to the US market at unfairly low prices.

Products involved are toilet paper and paper used for packaging and decoration.

Seven US paper makers, including Seaman Paper Co, Eagle Tissue LLC, Flower City Tissue Mills Inc, Putney Paper Co Ltd, American Crepe Corp, Garlock Printing & Converting Inc, Paper Service Ltd, and related industrial unions filed the suit to the US commerce department last Tuesday and requested the heavy duties.

In a statement, they said Chinese tissue paper products accounted for 42 percent of last year's US market, rising from 6 percent in 1999.

The market share of Chinese crepe paper also rose to 37 percent last year from the 5 percent in 1999.

Zhao said he's not clear why US companies filed the suit. The amount of Chinese paper exports to US is very small and couldn't have hurt US paper giants, he added.

"China exported about 10,000 tons of such paper products to the United States which is quite a small number," Zhao said.

He also predicted that Chinese paper exports will shrink sharply this year as the 13 percent export tax rebate was lifted this year for a large number of paper product varieties.

The US International Trade Commission will hold a hearing in early March on preliminary phase investigation.

"In most cases, US companies filed the suit to put pressure on inexpensive Chinese goods which hurt their profits. Some of the files are groundless," said Jin Yan, a lawyer with Shenzhen Jin & Partners Law Firm who specializes in anti-dumping cases.

China has been confronting an increasing number of trade barriers after its entry to the World Trade Organization.

Judges overturned an anti-dumping charge on Chinese apple juice exporters this month.

(Shanghai Daily February 25, 2004)