EC anti-dumping duty on Chinese glass fibre products: APFE welcomes decision

The European Glass Fibre Producers Association (APFE) welcomes the decision to impose import duties on certain Chinese glass fibre products. It says that since 2004 the market share held by Chinese producers in the European industry has seen a massive increase and the industry has suffered from significant price undercutting, seriously damaging profitability, ability to invest and employment in the sector.

On the 16 September, the Official Journal of the European Union published official notification of the European Commission's provisional anti-dumping measures on glass fibre products originating in China. Import duties of 43.6% came into effect on 17 September for a provisional period of 6 months.

The EC's anti-dumping investigation was initiated in December 2009 following a complaint lodged by APFE (which is represented in Brussels by GlassFibreEurope) in November 2009.

“We are appreciative of the European Commission’s very thorough investigation and for imposing the provisional duties,” says Dr Axel Jorns, Secretary General of GlassFibreEurope, in a statement issued on 16 September.

“Glass fibre reinforcements are a critical input material for composites, which play an increasingly important part in our lives – in such applications as wind turbine blades, car components and marine boat hulls – but are a minor cost item in the finished goods," he states. "The European manufacturing industry has and will have capacity to meet the market’s demands and will continue to ensure that the European composites industry can continue to grow through innovation and competitiveness."

Fact sheet

GlassFibreEurope has also issued a fact sheet (see Download). This notes that the imposing of provisional anti-dumping measures in the EU follows similar measures in India and Turkey. India imposed provisional duties of up to 40% in June 2010 and Turkey followed with provisional duties of nearly 40% in July.

The fact sheet also states that the provisional measures are unlikely to have a significant impact on major users or on consumer prices: the costs of the glass fibre in a wind turbine or an average family car represent less than 1% of the total costs.

GlassFibreEurope

GlassFibreEurope's members produce continuous filament glass fibre. They are:

Ahlstrom Glassfibre Oy, Finland;

Cam Elyaf Sanayii AS, Turkey;

Johns Manville Europe, Slovakia;

Lanxess Deutschland GmbH, Germany;

OCV Reinforcements, Belgium;

P + D Fibre Glass Group, Germany;

PPG Industries Fiber Glass BV, Netherlands;

Saint-Gobain Vetrotex Deutschland, Germany;

3B, Belgium.