Spotlight falls on antidumping circumvention

           In February the European Union imposed antidumping tariffs of up to 85 percent on a wide range of fasteners imported from the People's Republic of China. In recent weeks there have been growing indications that some importers may be circumventing the tariff regime, knowingly or unwittingly, by importing Chinese produced fasteners from a third country or under incorrect tariff codes.
          Now, reliable sources have confirmed that a number of EU member states have submitted evidence of specific incidences of circumvention to OLAF, the European Anti Fraud Office. OLAF's stated mission is "to protect the financial interests of the European Union, to fight fraud, corruption and any other irregular activity." Given 85 percent of antidumping duties collected by member states ends is paid to the central European Union budget there appears little doubt that OLAF will actively investigate these reports.