EU confirms Chinese e-bike imports subject to registration
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
The EU Commission is making imports of electric bicycles originating in the People's Republic of China subject to registration.
The EU is making e-bikes originating in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) which are "falling within CN codes 8711 60 10 and ex 8711 60 90 (TARIC code 8711 60 90 10)" subject to registration to put a halt to Chinese e-bikes being dumped on the European market.
The European Commission said that at this stage it has "sufficient evidence that imports of the product concerned from the People's Republic of China (PRC) are being dumped"; and "the Commission has at its disposal sufficient evidence that the exporting producers' subsidy practices are causing material injury to the Union industry. As a whole, and given the extent of the alleged dumping margins ranging from 193 % to 430 %, this evidence provides sufficient support at this stage that the exporting producers practice dumping."
Moreno Fioravanti, Secretary General of the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association (EBMA) pointed out: "Today's decision on Registration has been made in time to counter a flood of dumped e-bikes through the important summer sales months of 2018, and rejected claims made by Chinese-backed interests. Dumped, subsidised Chinese e-bikes are flooding the EU at an alarming rate and artificially low prices. Chinese exporters are anticipating new EU trade measures and trying to avoid duties by stockpiling massive volumes of e-bikes in the EU, as demonstrated by the skyrocketing increase in imports of e-bikes. Just in the month of January 2018 alone, over 130,000 Chinese e-bikes were shipped to the EU."
"Overall e-bike exports from China grew by 83% in 2017 compared to 2016. A total of close to 800,000 e-bikes were exported in 2017 to the European Union's 28 member states; up 83% on the 434,000 total of 2016. Without immediate action, China would quickly take over the vast majority of the EU e-bike market this year, causing an unfair and unjustified decline of the EU industry after it has generated so many excellent and innovative products - the development of the pedal-assist e-bikes (EPAC's) is a great achievement of our EU bicycle industry - and invested record amounts in 2016 and 2017, over 1 billion euros per year."
"European e-bikes are the right green choice for European consumers. If the entire annual EU demand for bicycles and e-bikes were imported from China, their production would generate over 2 million MT more in CO2 and other emissions than if the bicycles and e-bikes were made in the EU, due to shipping-generated sulphuric dioxides, the still growing use of coal energy in China, the use of hazardous materials in China, and other factors", concluded Fioravanti.