Dear Minister, As the European Commission is consulting on

Dear Minister, As the European Commission is consulting on

Dear Minister,
As the European Commission is consulting on whether or not the EU should
recognise China as a Market Economy, the cost of Chinese dumping for the European
economy is increasing every day, thus jeopardizing not only direct jobs but also
indirect and induced jobs. Our steel industry is vital and is in an existential crisis
unless fair competition is restored as a matter of priority. Many other sectors, such as
ceramics, textile or chemicals, are also threatened by China's commercial aggression.
The EU has the possibility to correct prices on the market through its trade defence
instruments, but these have not proven to be effective enough. This is why the
European Commission proposed a reform of the EU's trade defence instruments in
2013, which was adopted by the European Parliament in the first part of 2014. The
central element of this reform is to introduce limited exemptions to the "Lesser Duty
Rule" so as to give the European Commission the possibility to impose corrective
duties up to the full amount of the dumping margin in certain limited cases.
As the crisis is deepening, and many more measures have been taken to try to address
it in recent months, the Commission has enriched its understanding of the flaws of the
current EU trade defence. As a result it recently announced that it stands ready to
propose further reforms, in particular broader exemptions to the Lesser Duty Rule.
The Lesser Duty Rule is a unilateral, "WTO +" commitment that our main trading
partners - such as the USA - do not apply. This leads to further damaging market
distortions, as the divergences between the EU and US regimes is leading to important
trade diversion.
Introducing exemptions to the Lesser Duty Rule would not transform the EU into a
protectionist zone. It would make trade fairer and help create a level playing field for
our industry. The exemption is by nature temporary, as respect for the conditions laid
down in the basic regulation by our trading partners would entail a return to the
Lesser Duty Rule.
In light of the rapidly deteriorating situation, we urge your government to endeavour
to find a mutually agreeable compromise on the reform of the Trade Defence
Instruments at the Council, taking due account of our considerations above on the
lesser duty rule.
Yours faithfully,
Jude KIRTON-DARLING (S&D/UK)
David BORRELLI (EFDD/IT)
Edouard MARTIN (S&D/FR)
Emmanuel MAUREL(S&D/FR)
Eric ANDRIEU (S&D/FR)
Maria ARENA (S&D/BE)
Georges BACH (EPP/LU)
Guillaume BALAS (S&D/FR)
Hugues BAYET (S&D/BE)
Tiziana BEGHIN (EFDD/IT)
Brando BENIFEI (S&D/IT)
Fabio Massimo CASTALDO (EFDD/IT)
Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI (S&D/IT)
William DARTMOUTH (EFDD/UK)
Jill EVANS (Greens-EFA/UK)
Eleonora EVI (EFDD/IT)
Jonas FERNANDEZ ALVAREZ (S&D/ES)
Eleonora FORENZA (GUE-NGL/IT)
Eider GARDIAZÁBAL RUBIAL (S&D/ES)
Karoline GRASWANDER-HAINZ (S&D/AT)
Theresa GRIFFIN (S&D/UK)
Iveta GRIGULE (ALDE/LV)
Yannick JADOT (Greens-EFA/FR)
Ramon JAUREGUI ATONDO (S&D/ES)
Agnes JONGERIUS (S&D/NL)
David MARTIN (S&D/UK)
Alessia MOSCA (S&D/IT)
Sirpa PIETIKAINEN (EPP/FI)
Christine REVAULT D'ALLONNES BONNEFOY (S&D/FR)
Dominique RIQUET (ALDE/FR)
Inmaculada RODRÍGUEZ-PIÑERO FERNÁNDEZ (S&D/ES)
Claude ROLIN (EPP/BE)
Ivan STEFANEC (EPP/SK)
Marco VALLI (EFDD/IT)
Flavio ZANONATO (S&D/IT)
On the initiative of the MES Action Group