EFDA President Dr. Volker Lederer’s Response to the EC’s Decision to Repeal AD Duties on Certain Iron & Steel Fasteners Originating in China

“EFDA objected to the imposition of anti-dumping measures on the import of iron and steel fasteners from China in 2009, and to the corrective measures in 2012, criticizing, above all, the lack of transparency of the anti-dumping investigation. Our sector has unfairly suffered from the inappropriately high anti-dumping duties of 74 percent, which have distorted the fastener market radically and unnecessarily. In fact, imports of products from China almost disappeared on the Union market after the imposition of the original measures. It has been hard for European fastener importers to cope with the measures in force and our sector has worked hard to adapt to the distortion on the fastener market.

With the complete and abrupt removal of antidumping duties of 74 percent European fastener distributors, which have unfairly suffered from the imposition of antidumping duties in 2009, become for a second time victim of the antidumping proceedings. The European Commission’ reaction to the WTO ruling will have similarly detrimental effects to their original imposition creating severe economic damage for fastener distributors, great uncertainty and heavy distortions on the fastener market, and jeopardizing numerous jobs across Europe.

EFDA has urged the Commission not to rush to an early removal of the duties, but to use any possible margin and time frame to reduce them to an appropriate level. This would correspond to the principles of free and fair trade shared by EFDA.”