EU to hit Chinese e-bikes imports with tariffs

Giant Manufacturing Co

18/01/2019 10:26

BRUSSELS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The European Union will impose
duties from Saturday on Chinese electric bicycles to curb cheap
imports which European producers say benefit from unfair
subsidies and are flooding the market.
    E-bikes coming from China will be subject to tariffs of
between 18.8 and 79.3 percent, a filing in the EU's official
journal said on Friday, in line with European Commission
proposal on which EU countries voted in December.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1YN2A5
    The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties are the latest in a
series of EU measures against Chinese exports ranging from solar
panels to steel, which have sparked strong words from Beijing.
    The Commission found Chinese exports of e-bikes to the
European Union more than tripled from 2014 until September 2017.
Their market share rose to 35 percent, while their average
prices fell by 11 percent.
    It has also said Chinese producers benefit from controlled
aluminium prices as well as advantageous financing and land
rights conditions and tax breaks.
    Taiwan's Giant  9921.TW , one of the world's largest bicycle
makers, which has factories in China as well as in the
Netherlands, would be subject to a rate of 24.8 percent.
    EU producers include Dutch groups Accell  ACCG.AS  and
Gazelle, Romania's Eurosport DHS and Germany's Derby Cycle
Holding.
    The European Bicycle Manufacturers Association said it
applauded the move that it said would shield 800 small and
medium sized companies employing 90,000 people.
    However, it warned that Chinese e-bike manufacturers were
already making their way to Europe via third countries where
they were being repackaged.
    LEVA-EU, a group including importers opposed to duties, said
the tariffs were protectionist and absurd, saying they would hit
consumers and other smaller European companies and went against
the EU's climate change goals.

 (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop
Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
 ((philip.blenkinsop@thomsonreuters.com; +32 2 287 6838; Reuters
Messaging: philip.blenkinsop.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))