Photo products face new anti-dumping duties for five years

China’s Ministry of Commerce imposed five-year anti-dumping duties of 16.2 to 28.8 percent on photographic paper and paperboard from the United States, the European Union and Japan in a final ruling on Thursday.

The move indicated that China is warning its trading partners about the intensifying trade investigations into Chinese goods and challenges to China’s export regulations, according to experts.

The anti-dumping investigation was launched in December 2010 in response to complaints by domestic producers, including Luckyfilm Co Ltd.

Under the final ruling, Kodak Ltd faces a duty of 19.4 percent, while Fujifilm Manufacturing Europe BV has a rate of 17.5 percent.

Other producers from Japan and the US face duties as high as 28.8 percent.

Li Qiang, president of Kodak China, said that “he regrets the ruling”, and he said the company did not dump, because Kodak’s prices for photographic paper and paperboard products are the highest in the domestic market.

Fujifilm did not comment.

Imports from the US, the EU and Japan accounted for more than 99 percent of China’s total imports of these products since the investigation began. The imports took up 76 percent of the domestic market in the first half of 2010, according to the ruling.

“The ruling is, to some degree, related to recent frequent trade investigations (against Chinese exporters) by the US. But it is reasonable and supported by sufficient evidence,” said Song Hong, an economist from the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Sang Baichuan, dean of the Institute of International Business at the University of International Business and Economics, said “the anti-dumping ruling is in line with (World Trade Organization) rules and can serve as a warning against the abuse of trade protection measures from developed economies”.

Sang added: “China has no intention of trade retaliation or a trade war (with) the US. But the imports of photographic paper and paperboard did hurt the domestic industry and caused bankruptcies and unemployment,” Sang said.

The final ruling came a day after the US announced anti-subsidy duties against Chinese solar panel exporters in a preliminary ruling.

On the same day, the US imposed anti-dumping duties as high as 235 percent and anti-subsidy duties of up to 223.27 percent on galvanized steel wire from China.

While Song suggested the ministry conduct more investigations into US exports, including agriculture products, aircraft and automobiles, Jin Baisong, deputy director of the department of Chinese trade and studies under the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank for the ministry, said that “trade protection moves will hurt both”.

Gary Locke, US ambassador to China, said on Wednesday that the US government is in the midst of a major reform and simplification process that will enable more high-technology goods to be exported to China.

Jin said that domestic producers need to seize the chance to enhance their competitiveness through investment in research and development and improvements in technology.