European Aluminium Criticizes European Commission’s Suspension Of Anti-Dumping Duties On Chinese Pro

Aluminium trade group European Aluminium Association said on Monday that it approved of the European Commission’s final confirmation of definitive anti-dumping duties on flat-rolled aluminium products (FRP) on the European market. However, it continued to oppose the nine-month suspension of such duties, which the EC officially confirmed this week.

EA noted the official findings by the EC that dumping of FRPs on the continent did in fact work a material harm to the domestic aluminium industry. However, EA chided the EC for the contradictory approach it has taken to suspend the 14 to 25 percent duties, which were authorized by the EC’s constituent countries to begin on Tuesday, for another nine months.

European Aluminium’s Director General Gerd Götz said in a related press release that the EC’s actions sends a contradictory message to Chinese aluminium exporters.

“The definitive anti-dumping duties set by the Commission are justified, balanced and long-overdue. China has been dumping underpriced and high-carbon aluminium on our market for many years, jeopardising the viability of our industry in the long run while compromising the EU’s Green Deal ambitions. The decision to suspend the definitive duties is illogical and goes against the assertive trade defence policy announced by the Commission. We urge the European Commission to annul the duty suspension and effectively leverage its trade defence tools to level the playing field for European aluminium producers.”

EA continued by saying that the suspension of antidumping duties will have a negative effect well beyond the nine-month suspension period, as the move jeopardizes a great deal of the jobs in the sector as well as ongoing and planned decarbonization projects by European aluminium producers.

“The suspension is the result of an inadequate, rushed 30-day investigation and contradicts the findings of the European Commission’s initial anti-dumping investigation, which confirmed the existence of material injury,” Götz continued. “We cannot accept that the EU will allow the proven injury to European aluminium producers to continue based on an unjustified suspension, so we are exploring all available options to fight it.”

The flat-rolled aluminium products included plates and coils of between 0.2 mm and 6 mm except for aluminium sheet used in beverage cans, automotive panels, or aerospace applications.

News Source From: Aluminium Insider