EU to discuss updating, strengthening trade defense instruments

20/11/2014 12:00 - 514 Views

Member states of the European Union (EU) will discuss a proposed regulation updating the bloc's trade defense instruments, a statement said on Wednesday.

To tackle unfair competition from dumped and subsidized imports, the Council of the EU is scheduled to debate a draft regulation at an upcoming trade minister meeting aimed at updating EU instruments, which have remained largely unchanged since 1995.

The statement outlined EU plans to enhance transparency and predictability of the imposition of provisional anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures.

The new proposal would enable importers to be reimbursed duties collected during an expiry review in the event that trade defense measures are not being maintained after five years.

The EU aims to allow investigations to be initiated without an official request from industry when there is a threat of retaliation.

According to the European Commission, anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures impact around 0.25 percent of EU imports. At the end of 2012, the EU had 102 anti-dumping and 10 anti-subsidy measures in force.

The regulation requires a qualified majority for adoption by the Council of the EU, in agreement with the European Parliament (EP). The EP adopted its position at first reading in April 2014. Endit

Source: Xinhua