Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 January 2022
156. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to an issue (details supplied) in relation to the introduction of anti-dumping duties on iron and steel fasteners imported from China. [2756/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the EU Treaties, competence for International Trade Policy, known as the Common Commercial Policy, and including Trade Defence, is vested in the European Commission under Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In exercising this competence, there are a variety of supporting Committees and Working Parties through which the Member States and the Commission engage, including on Trade Defence measures.
An "anti-dumping" investigation allows the Commission to determine whether goods being imported into the EU are being sold below the price charged in the domestic market of the producing country, i.e. being dumped on the EU market to the detriment of EU producers. During the investigation process, the Commission endeavours to engage with all stakeholders including exporters, importers and user interests to gain a broad understanding of the supply chains of the product(s) concerned and the, on occasion, competing interests of producers and
users in order to reach a balanced outcome that defends Union producers from unfair competition while ensuring that users and importers can continue to source goods from a wide variety of producers, including other third country producers.
"Definitive" anti-dumping investigations, such as in the case identified by the Deputy, are dealt with by the Trade Defence Instruments Committee, which is convened by the European Commission. Voting on definitive measures is conducted by way of Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) and the imposition of measures requires a qualified majority in favour of the proposal. To reach the qualified majority threshold, 55% of EU Member States (15) representing at least 65% of the total EU population must vote in favour of a measure. In this regard, however, I must emphasise that all aspects of the consultations within the Trade Defence Instruments Committee, including the votes of individual Member States, are confidential.
My Department, as part of its role in assessing Commission trade defence investigations proposals, engages with domestic producers, local importers and users, where identified, with the aim of assessing both the impact of dumping on the Irish market including the impact the proposed trade defence measures may have on users and importers of the product in question.
Decisions regarding Ireland’s position on specific trade issues are considered through a prism of a number of policy considerations with a balanced position sought as they relate to issues of trade policy, such as Union producer, user and consumer interests. Furthermore, while Ireland continues to support an open, rules-based trading environment, at the same time, we also need to ensure that agreed multilateral trade-rules are applied uniformly, with full transparency to ensure that wider EU commercial interests are protected, and that EU industry is not unfairly disadvantaged as a result of third country trade practices that distort the EU market. Equally, measures must be proportionate in rebalancing the market and be deployed carefully and on a strong evidential basis. In this regard, I am confident that this approach allows for a methodical and comprehensive assessment of the facts of a case while taking into account the interests of users and importers and the general interests of the Union.
Specific to the case in question, the Trade Defence team in my Department has received representations from several interested parties. The representations provided information such as the status of Irish manufacturing of the product, concerns regarding the inflationary impact of proposed trade defence measures, the lack of alternative sources of supply and the impact COVID-19 has had on the ability of Irish and European importers to source material elsewhere. So, I wish to assure the Deputy, that these inputs have been included as part of my Department's overall assessment of the European Commission’s proposal. Moreover, Member States have been asked to submit their opinion on the case to the Trade Defence Committee by the 19th January with the final outcome of the Trade Defence Committee’s assessment to be published in the Official Journal of the EU. While I must reiterate that individual Member State positions are confidential, my Department fully understands the interests that several importers have brought to our attention and the implications for them of a positive decision by the EU's Trade Defence Instruments Committee.
Finally, I wish to advise that a separate Commission investigation - but related to the trade defence case in question – may be conducted to assess whether market conditions in the Union at present permit the suspension of measures for a period of up to 9 months should a decision be taken that definitive duties be imposed. The suspension of measures is permitted in cases where current market conditions do not reflect the market conditions in place during the Commission's "investigation period". Supply-chain issues and higher pricing as a result of COVID-19 having a negative impact on the availability of a range of products in the EU market is well understood by my Department. Therefore, if such an investigation is conducted by the Commission which results in a recommendation to suspend the imposition of measures - were such definitive measures carried - the Trade Defence team will assess the recommendation based on the Commission's report and the information received from industry to date. In this regard, my Department's Trade Policy Unit is happy to remain engaged with industry representatives and are contactable at trade@enterprise.gov.ie.
