Once again, no one is dealing with the problem that small and medium manufacturers have, that is, if you tarif the raw materials but not the finished goods, they get around the tarifs by supplying the finished product, a flashlight, whatever, at below our costs for the raw materials.
International Herald Tribune
The EU began an inquiry into whether Chinese exporters, including Baoshan Iron & Steel and Wuhan Iron & Steel, sell flat-rolled steel in the EU below cost, a practice known as dumping. The inquiry covers €1.2 billion, or $1.7 billion, of imports of hot-dipped metallic-coated steel.
The investigation will determine whether the steel “is being dumped and whether this dumping has caused injury,” the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said in the Official Journal.
The commission has nine months to decide whether to impose provisional anti-dumping duties for half a year and EU governments have 15 months to decide whether to apply “definitive” levies for five years.
Here’s another, similar article, from the Toronto Star, a local (to Toronto) newspaper.
EU officials have warned of a protectionist backlash if China doesn’t do more to open up to European exports. They’ve also asked that Beijing address the valuation of the yuan, which they say gives Chinese exporters an unfair price advantage.