Eyeglass makers to answer anti-dumping charge

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 06, 2004

Eyeglass makers to answer anti-dumping charge

Three eyeglass companies in Wenzhou have decided to respond to an anti-dumping case brought forth by Argentina in early January.

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Three eyeglass companies in Wenzhou have decided to respond to an anti-dumping case brought forth by Argentina in early January.

The unnamed companies, part of a group of 27 involved in this case - and all based in Wenzhou of East China's Zhejiang Province - agreed to represent their colleagues following a day-long meeting organized by the Wenzhou Optical Chamber of Commerce.

"Not all of them will answer the case because the cost for lawsuit is high and the involved amount of money (to be won) is not so big," said Ye Zijian, chairman of the chamber.

The three representatives will include one trading company and two manufacturing ones.

The South American nation charges that the 27 companies charge unfairly low prices for their eyewear.

From January to November last year, Wenzhou exported US$970,000 worth of eyeglasses to Argentina, less than 0.3 per cent of the city's total optical products exports of US$400 million.

Although China's exports to the nation are relatively small, Ye said Wenzhou's optical manufacturers fear other countries may follow suit if the sanctions take place in Argentina.

A law firm to represent the companies has not yet been selected, but when it is, Ye said, it will ask Argentina to delay the deadline for answering to the charges.

The reason for this is that the optical manufacturers have only 45 days from January 7, when Argentina filed the suit, to give their response. However, notification of the anti-dumping lawsuit did not arrive in Wenzhou until last Friday - more than 20 days after the paperwork was handed in. Red tape and the one-week Lunar New Year holiday were blamed for the delayed notification, according to Ye.

According to Ye's estimation, legal fees will reach a total of US$60,000 for the three companies.

The 27 companies will share part of the cost and the rest will be sponsored by Ye's chamber and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Light Industrial Products and Arts-Crafts.

But importers in Argentina are unhappy about the charges against the Chinese firms and have agreed to lobby for Chinese companies.

"They said they will be persuading the government that the Chinese eyeglasses did not sell at an unfairly low price and did not injure the local industry," Ye said.

Ye said no details on the suit launched, such as specific restrictions Argentina seeks to impose, were available at this time.

Wenzhou is the largest manufacturing base of optical products in China, which has more than 800 optical product manufacturers employing over 120,000 workers.

This is the second time a local chamber of commerce in the mercantile city has been brought to the front line for answering to anti-dumping charges.

The city, with its flourishing private businesses and renowned manufacturing plants, has much experience in handling these kinds of cases.

Led by the Association of Lighter Producers in Wenzhou, Chinese lighter manufacturers challenged an anti-dumping suit launched by their European counterparts, and finally won the case last year - the first victory Chinese firms have won against an anti-dumping action filed by European firms since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

This was also the first time a non-governmental organization in China won a lawsuit involving international trade barriers.

The spirit and actions of the Wenzhou companies should be appreciated and followed since this nation has been the biggest sufferer of anti-dumping measures, according to Zhang Hanlin, an expert on WTO issues.

In weekly anti-dumping hearings undertaken by the United States International Trade Commission, there is often mention of China. And it seems, explained the expert, that the movement is spreading to other nations..

Since the mid-1990s, one out of seven anti-dumping cases involved Chinese products, according to Zhang.

In another development, the Argentinian Government on Wednesday has ruled that the Chinese companies did not dump glyphosate onto its market. The product is a herbicide for growing genetically modified soybeans.

Chinese exports of glyphosate account for one quarter of the market in Argentina, which is valued at US$250 million.

Both Chinese manufacturers and users of the products in Argentina welcomed the decision.

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