The European Union has agreed new powers to apply higher tariffs and more rapidly as part of a wave of measures to face the long-term challenge of cheap imports from China.

The political agreement was reached late on Tuesday by negotiators from the European Parliament, the 28 member states and the European Commission, the EU's executive arm that handles trade matters in Europe.

Four years in the making, the compromise text will allow the EU to swiftly impose higher tariff penalties on imports manufactured at below cost, in line with methodology already used in the United States.

"Better late than never. It took us some time to get here, but today's deal means that the EU will have the necessary tools to tackle quickly and effectively unjust trading practices," said EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem.

The new rule will also shorten the current nine-month investigation period for the imposition of provisional measures to seven or eight months, the commission said.

Importing companies will "also benefit from an early warning system that will help them adapt in case duties are imposed," it said.

The introduction of such sanctions constitutes a cultural change for Brussels, whose anti-dumping duties were historically set at a level to only remove the injury to EU producers, rather than a higher rate required to bring the import price to what is deemed fair and normal.

The European Union was the only region in the world to apply this so-called "lesser duty" trade rule, which aims at sanctioning dumping practices only minimally.

However, the agreement concluded by the Europeans only removes the application of this rule in cases involving raw materials.

Economically liberal countries, especially in the north of Europe, are hostile to the total elimination of the "lesser duty rule", which they fear would bring a boost to protectionism.

The deal comes just weeks after the EU pushed through other measure targeting China.

Those measures were intended to offset the consequences of granting China so-called market economy status at the WTO that will make it more difficult to prove and punish illegal trade practices by Beijing.

Tweet

Buy it with bitcoin in New York, but it's not cheap
New York (AFP) Dec 5, 2017
At Melt Bakery, a hole in the wall that sells ice cream sandwiches in New York's upscale Manhattan neighborhood, you can pay for your guilty pleasure in bitcoin. And while a few swipes of a mobile app are all it takes to fill your electronic wallet, the novelty, for now, comes at a hefty cost. Melt is one of several small stores in America's biggest city now accepting the bitcoins, haile ... read more

Related Links
Global Trade News

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only