EU, China in New WTO Rift, Over Steel Tariffs This Time

The European Union has lodged a complaint against China before the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the rising Asian power's tariffs imposed on imported stainless steel pipes.

In its complaint, the EU argued the "anti-dumping duties imposed on imports of high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes (HP-SSST)" from the region as well as Japan "are incompatible with WTO law, both on procedural and on substantive grounds."

Early in November 2012, China announced it will impose a five-year anti-dumping duties on HP-SSSTs imported from EU and Japan. It argued it was forced to make the decision after it discovered that Chinese producers were being harmed because the two regions had been dumping their products in the Chinese market.

HP-SSSTs are products mainly used in superheaters and reheaters of supercritical or ultra-supercritical boilers in power stations.

But the EU maintained that the 9.7 per cent to 11.1 per cent duties imposed on European products "are significantly hampering access to the Chinese market."

On Thursday, the EU said it had "requested consultations with China" at the WTO.

"WTO consultations will give the EU and China the opportunity to find a negotiated solution."

"If the consultations are not successful, after 60 days the EU can ask the WTO to establish a panel to rule on the case," it said.

However, "the steel tariff isn't something new and China is doing it in accordance with the law," an unidentified Chinese diplomat however told Reuters

What's only evident is that the EU "wants to send out the message that it is watching measures taken by China very closely."

EU's move joins a related incident when Japan, also about anti-dumping duties on steel tubes, requested consultations with China before the WTO.

China is the EU's second-biggest trading partner, taking imports from the region at $212 billion last year and exporting $334 billion.