EU should think twice before taking trade defense measures against China
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The European Union (EU) on Thursday launched an anti-subsidy probe into wireless modems imported from China, after it targeted the same Chinese product with two separate investigations of anti-dumping and safeguards measures in June.
It is the first time that the EU has initiated triple investigations simultaneously into a single Chinese product, which is a rare practice among World Trade Organization members.
The move was the latest among a series of trade defense actions taken by the EU against China this year. According to EU statistics, the 27-nation trade bloc launched eight trade probes into Chinese products ranging from coated fine paper to ceramic tiles in the first nine months, already more than the total number of investigations opened last year.
And for the first time, the EU launched an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese products in April, targeting coated fine paper which had already faced anti-dumping investigation. Now it set another record by conducting triple investigations.
The frequent and unprecedented use of trade defense measures have led to China's concerns about increased protectionism in the EU. The rising tension serves no good to neither China nor the EU itself.
Accusing Chinese companies of unfair trade, the EU claims to be safeguarding its own legitimate interests, but things may go contrary to its wishes.
The 27-nation bloc apparently remains unclear of where its interests lie. As early as in 2006, then EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson initiated a review of the EU's trade defense instruments, with a purpose to redefine Europe's "community interests" in a globalized world.
With more and more European companies outsourcing manufacturing to China for lower labor costs, they are also liable to harm caused by the trade defense measures taken by the EU.
Critics say those measures often hurt EU consumers and those European companies with a competitive edge resulting from globalized production, but coddle the laggards.
