By PYC Bearings
©2004-2008
The European Commission has launched an antidumping investigation against a wide range of carbon steel fasteners imported from the People's Republic of China. The action could result in large price increases for fasteners used across a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. The investigation was launched on November 9, 2007, in response to a detailed complaint lodged by European fastener manufacturers, led by Italian producers.
The complaint alleges dumping margins between 90 and 195% on commonly used fasteners, such as woodscrews, hexagonal head bolts, socket screws, self tapping screws and washers.A decision on preliminary tariffs could be made as early as January and no later than August 8, 2008.
According to the British Association of Fasteners Distributors (BAFD), the application of tariffs based on these levels of dumping margins would result in massive increases in the price of every day fastener products in the UK.
'We are not talking 4 or 5% here'.'We are facing the potential of increases probably upwards of 40%,' said vice chairman, Geoff Hopwood, who is leading the BAFD campaign arguing against antidumping measures.'While there are Asian alternatives to China for these types of products they are definitely higher priced and they would be totally swamped if demand was switched away from China, with unknown consequences for price, quality and delivery.
Tariffs at anything like these levels would cause chaos in world fastener markets,' Hopwood said.'We do not believe the capacity exists in Europe to respond to any switch in demand and, anyway, some of the European producers that lodged the complaint, are already understood to be planning price increases in anticipation of high tariffs'.He said: 'If tariffs are applied, BAFD members, in common with all UK fastener distributors, will have no choice but to pass on cost increases, which are entirely the result of factors outside their control.
The level of potential increase involved is impossible to absorb. British industry and consumers will be forced to pay higher fastener prices as a result of market distorting duties, which are unlikely to benefit British fastener producers, most of which manufacture more specialist products.' * Objections - if British industry and consumers want to avoid or, at least, minimise the impact of potential tariffs, they should urgently make their objection clear to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on .