The European Union (EU) should adapt its anti-dumping mechanism to globalization, a top EU trade official said on Monday, citing the recent case against Chinese energy-saving light bulbs.
Imposing punitive measures "is often both justified and right. But if it is inhibiting European companies from pursuing rational production strategies -- or as in the light bulbs case, flying in the face of our stated policy on energy conservation and the realities of production in Europe -- it can also be counterproductive," EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told a conference on globalization in the Hague, the Netherlands.
The European Commission put forward a compromised proposal last week for one-year delay in an end to the anti-dumping duties imposed six years ago against low energy light bulbs made in China.
The proposal was widely criticized by both environmentalists as unjustified in the EU's fight against global warming, and by most EU producers, who have their production based in China.
With increasing number of European companies now outsourcing manufacturing to China for lower labor costs, they are liable to the anti-dumping duties imposed by the EU, which makes it difficult for the 27-nation bloc to define its overall interests.
Critics said the anti-dumping measures often hurt EU consumers and those European companies with competitive edge thanks to globalized production, while coddling those laggards.
As in the case of light bulbs, the Dutch electronics giant Philips said it had to pay €20 million per year for the anti-dumping duties since it has a large presence in China and imports so many that it can hardly be classified as a European producer.
In his first full public assessment of the recent case, Mandelson said it again captured many of the complex problems of adapting to economic globalization in Europe.
"We need to be careful to separate unfair trade from trade that is simply very competitive," he said in the speech made available to the media.
In an effort to gather momentum for an overhaul of the EU trade defense instruments, including the most often-used anti-dumping measures, the European Commission initiated a public consultation last December.
As the commission was expected to publish its recommendation based on the public consultation in the coming weeks, Mandelson said the light bulbs debate emphasized the issues that need to be addressed.
In his speech, Mandelson also called for a positive politics of globalization, reminding his audience of the benefits globalization has brought to the EU, including cheap imports from China.
"The reason why your clothes are more than one third cheaper now than they were 10 years ago is called China ... the reason why European exports are rising at eight percent a year is because we are benefiting from the new markets that globalization is creating in the growing emerging world," he said, adding Europe's embrace of globalization has made the EU more prosperous than any society in recorded history.
(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2007)
