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Chinese screw and fastener makers, stung by the possibility of a European anti-dumping ruling, are asking China's Ministry of Commerce to bring a similar case, arguing European imports prevent them from moving up the value chain, industry officials said on Sunday.
Last week, European Union member states failed to agree whether to impose anti-dumping duties of between 63 percent and 87 percent on Chinese-made screws and steel fasteners. They postponed the decision until Dec. 3.
Dozens of Chinese companies are now making the case that imports of high-end European fasteners prevent the Chinese industry, which exports about half the middle- and low-end fasteners it produces, from moving up the value chain, said Feng Jinyao, head of the China Industrial Fastener Association.
"For this many private companies to band together shows that China has become a mature user of international trade tools," said Fu Donghui, managing partner at Allbright Law Offices, at a press conference by industry officials.
If presented by the Ministry of Commerce to the World Trade Organization, the case would be an unusual one of competing anti-dumping cases on the same class of product, Fu said.
The European industry contends Chinese makers benefit from suspected subsidies in steel wire, their raw material, which is currently the focus of a separate investigation.
Two Chinese subsidiaries of European producers were exempted, much to the Chinese industry's annoyance, on the grounds they primarily use a different kind of steel.
Chinese companies were also denied market economy status, which means their prices were evaluated against cost structures of Indian companies.
The potential loss of an important market would hurt hundreds of fastener companies, most of them privately owned and based in the Yangtze Delta, that struggle with high raw materials costs from the first half of the year and slowing growth in orders as the global financial crisis bites, Feng said.
About a third have temporarily stopped operations, he said.
Fasteners, which can range from the tiny screws used in cellphones and eyeglasses to large, industrial pieces, are the "rice" of industry -- seemingly plain, but vital, Feng said.
Just as in Europe, where importers, distributors and users of Chinese fasteners would face higher costs if the tariffs were imposed, China's Ministry of Commerce will have to weigh the interests of the important automotive industry, which imports almost all the fasteners it uses in seatbelts and other parts.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| HS7008-E-2RSD-T-P4S bearing | 40 | 68 | 15 |
| HS7008-C-2RSD-T-P4S bearing | 40 | 68 | 15 |