Domestic optical fibre makers say they are somewhat disappointed
with a final Ministry of
Commerce anti-dumping ruling made that lowered penalty tariff
rates on some US competitors.
However, some said they may not apply for a review because of a
lack of evidence. The last day for an appeal is January 15.
But they will be keenly collecting related information to launch
a possible petition in August or September, some said after a
meeting among major Chinese fibre makers held last weekend in
Beijing.
On January 1, China's foreign trade watchdog, the commerce
ministry, ruled in a final judgment that punitive tariffs ranging
from 7 to 46 percent will be imposed on the imports of dispersion
unshifted single-mode optical fibres from Japan, South Korea and
the United States.
The US firm, Corning, the world's largest fibre maker, was ruled
to be dumping its products at a margin of 1.51 percent, a slight
enough rate to escape penalty duties, according to Chinese law.
It was ruled to be dumping at a margin of 16 percent in June
2004, according to a preliminary judgment by ministry
officials.
"The final margin is beyond our previous prediction. It is very
hard for us to accept the ruling on Corning," said Yu Weichang, a
spokesman for the Wuhan-based Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable
Company, one of two Chinese companies that initiated the
anti-dumping appeal in 2003.
"The fibre prices will not see big increases after the final
ruling," Yu said. "That will smash our early hopes of protecting
our market and interest through legal means under the World Trade
Organization."
Corning insisted that it has never dumped in China, without
disclosing the prices of its products.
The Chinese companies complained that Corning did not disclose
all data in the anti-dumping investigations, but the US company
argued that its statistics are confidential.
"Our company is satisfied with the final ruling of the commerce
ministry," said Lu Rong, a spokesperson for Corning.
"The investigation of the ministry is open, fair and
transparent," she added.
Insiders said the price of the optical fibres, which are widely
used for long-distance communications and television cables, were
over 1,000 yuan (US$120) per kilometre at the beginning of 2001,
but sharply declined to some 120 yuan (US$14.5) in 2002 and 2003 as
foreign products flooded into the Chinese market.
The abrupt decrease was a big blow to domestic fibre makers, who
saw their profits decline.
In an attempt to protect their interests, Yangtze and
Jiangsu-based Fasten Photonics Co filed a petition to the ministry,
asking for a 20 percent anti-dumping tariff on the US and Japanese
companies and a 30 percent on South Korea.
In its preliminary judgment made in June of last year, the
ministry ruled that 7 percent and 32 percent duties would be
imposed on two South Korean companies, and 46 percent duties would
be placed on other US and South Korean enterprises and all Japanese
fiber manufacturers.
The ministry did not change its ruling on imports from Japanese
and South Korean companies in its final judgment.
China, the recently declared world's third largest importer, did
not launch any anti-dumping cases until 1997, but by 2004, there
have been 34 anti-dumping charges and one safeguard measure.
Experts said Chinese companies are cautious in launching
anti-dumping cases, but they are learning to shield themselves
within the framework of the World Trade Organization to survive
severe overseas competition.
(China Daily January 14, 2005)