EU hits Chinese aluminium foil exporters

The European Union on Thursday slapped five-year duties on Chinese aluminium foil exporters alongside Brazilian and Armenian rivals. The decision to hit the three countries' exporters with tariffs of up to 30 percent for dumping industrial-sized rolls onto European markets at below cost price was an extension of an existing provisional punishment. It specifically does not include household aluminium foil. A directive has to be adopted by October 7. The regulation followed a complaint by the Brussels-based EU association of the non-ferrous metals industry, Eurometaux. Inspections were carried out in China in the latest in a long-running series of anti-dumping battles. However, Brazilian attempts to include Russian producers were rejected. China on Thursday denied EU claims it had imposed curbs on European pork imports. Anti-dumping duties are also in force against Chinese shoes, with further probes underway into steel cable exports and industrial chemicals. Rows over alleged trade protectionism have mushroomed as national and trading-bloc economies plot the path to sustained growth following the economic crisis. - AFP