EU Extends 64.3% Tariff on Auto Wire From China to Malaysia

13/01/2012 12:00 - 417 Views

The European Union extended to Malaysia a tariff on automotive-industry wire from China, saying Chinese exporters used the country to evade the levy meant to curb competition for Austria’s Plansee Metall GmbH.

The EU said Chinese exporters of molybdenum wire shipped it to the 27-nation bloc via Malaysia to dodge the 64.3 percent duty. Automotive companies, particularly truck makers, use molybdenum wire for coating parts.

The import tax “was circumvented by trans-shipment via Malaysia,” the EU said in a decision yesterday in Brussels. The extension will take effect after publication in the bloc’s Official Journal due on Jan. 12.

The EU imposed the trade protection in June 2010 for five years to protect molybdenum-wire maker Plansee Metall from below-cost, or “dumped,” imports from China. The targeted Chinese exporters include Jinduicheng Molybdenum Co. (601958)

The decision to extend the anti-dumping duty to Malaysia ends an eight-month circumvention investigation that also covered Switzerland. The probe found no circumvention had taken place via Switzerland.

By Jonathan Stearns

Source: Bloomberg.com