The European Commission on Wednesday decided to open an ex- officio anti-dumping and an anti-subsidy investigation concerning imports of mobile telecommunication networks and their essential elements from China.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in a statement that the decision would not be activated for the time being to allow negotiations towards an amicable solution with the Chinese authorities.
"I will revert to the College of Commissioners in due course," he added.
The mobile telecommunication networks and their essential elements (radio access network and mobile network core) designed and configured to fulfill the requirements of the EU telecommunications service providers would be subject to the investigation.
The end-user equipment such as telephones and modems is not covered under the investigation.
China exports telecommunication network equipment to the EU market with a value of approximately just over EUR1 billion an year.
An ex-officio trade defense action allows the European Commission to launch a trade defense investigation on its own initiative without an official complaint by the EU industry. This possibility is particularly important as it offers a 'shield' when the risk of retaliation against European companies asking for trade defense instruments is high. Any launch of an investigation is supported by prima facie evidence of unfair international trade practice and the economic difficulties caused by it.
The European Commission usually investigates allegations made in a complaint it receives from an EU industry, and if justified, proposes anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures. In exceptional cases, the Commission can launch an investigation at its own initiative - known as an 'ex officio' case.
The European Union is a moderate user of trade defense instruments. In terms of trade volume, these measures only have impact on around 0.25 percent of EU imports.
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