EU Increases Tariffs on Chinese Ceramics to 79% Amid Trade Tensions

EU Tariff Increase on Chinese Ceramics

By Philip Blenkinsop

Background on Tariff Changes

BRUSSELS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The European Union has sharply increased tariffs on imports of ceramic plates, cups, bowls and other table and kitchenware from China after a review of anti-dumping measures in place since 2013.

Impact on the Ceramics Industry

The 27-nation bloc will apply a blanket 79% duty on the products, replacing previous duties that had ranged from 13.1% to 36.1%, a filing in the EU official journal said on Friday.  

Future Implications of Tariff Hike

The hike is among a series of steps the EU has taken to counter what it says are unfair Chinese business practices, straining already tense economic relations. Of the 63 trade investigations the European Commission is conducting, 47 involve products from China. 

The Commission said Chinese ceramics producers were owned, controlled or guided by authorities, receiving preferential financing, land and raw materials. The EU executive constructed "normal" costs for raw materials, labour and energy using Turkish data as a reference and concluded that Chinese producers were exporting at artificially low prices.

The revised tariff will apply for the next five years.

Cerame-Unie, the EU ceramics industry group that requested the review, says the measures are vital to protect manufacturers of tableware and ornaments that directly employ more than 30,000 people.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop. Editing by Mark Potter)