On 12 December 2019, the European Commission announced that it has sanctioned Chinese exporters of table- and kitchenware involved in circumventing EU anti-dumping measures by doubling the duty rate applicable to them. The announcement said:
The decision follows a thorough investigation launched by the Commission on its own initiative (ex officio) in March this year, given a sharp rise in exports of some Chinese companies over the past five years (2014-2018).
The investigation has confirmed that Chinese companies are evading anti-dumping duties of around 36% by channelling their ceramic exports through other companies that were subject to lower anti-dumping duties of around 18%.
The Chinese companies – more than 30 in total – found to have helped to circumvent the duties will as a result also be subject to the higher duty rate of around 36%.
The new duties will apply from 21 March 2019 onwards, with some €15 million in duties to be collected retroactively. This is the Commission’s largest anti-circumvention investigation to date. It involved very significant resources, with 20 Commission investigators carrying out on spot verifications at 50 Chinese companies.
