EU to Impose Anti-dumping Tax on Vietnamese Bicycles

EU to Impose Anti-dumping Tax on Vietnamese Bicycles

The European Union (EU) has a plan to impose anti-dumping tariffs on bicycle imports from China and Vietnam from next month in an attempt to put the brake on cheap imports, the Financial Times reported recently.

The European Commission's draft bicycle recommendation, tabled on June 9, is for an increase of 48.5 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports, and for a first-time tariff of 34.5 per cent on Vietnamese products.

Manufacturers claim the 50,000 jobs in the EU's bicycle industry, plus another 50,000 among parts makers, would be at risk if the tariff regime was not extended.

Critics of the sanctions, however, warn of the impact on bicycle prices in Europe. Universal Cycles, which imports 600,000 bicycles into the UK a year, said it had already stopped placing orders in Vietnam in readiness for the curbs. "This will mean the end of cheap bikes," said Tony Brown, group finance manager.

Annick Roetynck, secretary general of the European Two-Wheeler Retailers' Association (ETRA), which represents around 6,000 specialist dealers, said ETRA also opposed tariffs on Vietnamese bikes, which are generally branded and sold by its members.

ETRA said there was no evidence of dumping by Vietnam and blamed the sharp rise in Vietnamese imports on a decision by UK’s bicycle giant Raleigh to end European production in 2002 and instead outsource from Vietnam.

In a statement, ETRA said: "In 2003, over 43 per cent of the Vietnamese import into the EU was sold to the UK. Compared to 2002, the EU import rose with 645,296 bicycles. The UK accounted for more than 75 per cent of that increase since the British import of Vietnamese bicycles grew from 103,431 to 591,588 units."

ETRA said it believed a dumping duty on Vietnamese bikes would harm the independent bicycle dealer (IBD) sector and lead to higher prices and less choice for consumers, especially in the UK.

Youth