European Union Confirmed The Imposition of Provisional Tariffs on Ceramic Tiles From China

On 16 March the European Union confirmed the imposition of provisional tariffs on ceramic tiles from China. The duties range from 26.2% to 36.6% for all the Chinese companies that cooperated with the Commission's investigation. A residual duty of 73% applies to other Chinese companies who chose not to cooperate. The provisional duties apply to glazed and unglazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; glazed and unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes and similar articles, whether or not rectangular, whether or not on a backing. This anti-dumping investigation was initiated in June 2010 at the request of CET, the European Ceramic Tile Manufacturers' Federation claiming that European manufacturers are "suffering from unfair practices and dumped imports from China." In a statement CET Chairman, Alfonso Panzani claimed that the duties were "simply to bring Chinese prices to a fair level, making it possible for ceramic tile production to continue in Europe, and creating the conditions for healthy competition to develop"He also stressed that the EU ceramic tiles industry is a highly competitive and innovative industry which performs well on exports markets and "there is no reason why we should be less competitive in Europe than when we export outside of the EU" he concluded. The Tile Association has taken the view that there should be no barriers to free trade. The EU has six months in which to confirm the tariffs which could be in place for a period of up to five years. Source: tilezine.co.uk