The EU imposed tariffs of as high as 67.4 percent on imports from the US, China and Taiwan of a chemical used for treating water and metals, seeking to protect German manufacturers including Degussa GmbH.
The EU said US, Chinese and Taiwanese peroxosulfate exporters including FMC Corp and DuPont Co sold in Europe below domestic prices or below the production cost, a practice known as dumping. The duties, which amount to 39 percent against FMC and 10.6 percent against DuPont, are for six months and may be prolonged for five years.
EU peroxosulfate producers that also include RheinPerChemie GmbH suffered "material injury" as a result of a "substantial increase" in imports at "very low and dumped prices" from the US, China and Taiwan, the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's regulatory arm in Brussels, said yesterday. The levies, which are 22.6 percent against Taiwan and as much as 67.4 percent against China, take effect today.
The EU is seeking to stem imports from around the world of commodities including chemicals to shield higher-cost producers in Europe. The bloc uses punitive tariffs known as anti-dumping duties to try to prevent imports from undercutting European manufacturers.
China, Taiwan and the US increased their combined share of the EU peroxosulfate market to 30.2 percent in the 12 months through last June from 22.6 percent in 2003, according to the commission. China expanded its hold on the European market to 14.9 percent from 8.3 percent, Taiwan increased its share to 5.9 percent from 5.3 percent and the US raised its share to 9.3 percent from 9 percent over that period, the commission said.
The six-month anti-dumping duties follow a dumping complaint last May by European chemical industry lobby group Cefic and an investigation begun last July by the commission.
Under EU rules, the commission can introduce provisional anti-dumping duties for six months.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)