William Schomberg

Europe’s top retailers urged the European Union to axe its “ridiculous” anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese-made energy-saving lightbulbs on Monday, saying they cost consumers 2 billion euros (US$3.2 billion) a year

BRUSSELS, Belgium; July 22, 2008.- “An average shopper finds it very difficult to understand why he or she is being discouraged against buying energy saving light bulbs, at a time when electricity prices are going through the roof, and concern over the environment reaches new heights,” said Paul Skehan, head of European Retail Round Table (ERRT).

The ERRT’s members include well-known retailers such as Tesco, Metro, IKEA and Kingfisher.

The EU imposed anti-dumping duties of up to 66 percent on imports of Chinese energy-saving lightbulbs in 2001 after saying it had evidence that Chinese exporters were breaking international trade rules.

Last year Osram — part of German engineering group Siemens — persuaded Brussels to extend them but only by a year instead of the usual five after a row between EU states.

Environmentalists and some EU governments argued the duties should be scrapped because they fly in the face of the EU’s drive to promote energy efficiency, a cornerstone of its plans to fight climate change.

Osram recently asked for the duties to be extended, paving the way for another internal row within the EU in coming months.

Dutch electronics group Philips, which imports more energy-saving lightbulbs from China than its rival Osram, also opposed extending the duties last year.

(Reuters)

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