China's lighter producers have won an antidumping charge launched by their European counterparts, Xinhua reported. This was the first victory won by Chinese firms against an anti-dumping action in the EU since China joined the World Trade Organisation.
Last year, at the request of European manufacturers, Brussels announced that it was launching a dumping investigation into refillable lighters from China. Chinese manufacturers, led by the association of lighter producers in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, contested the dumping charge and invited EU officials to Wenzhou for field investigations. The Europeans concluded that the Chinese industry operated under market economy rules and that its lighters were cheap simply because costs were low. The charge was withdrawn earlier this year.
Wenzhou is the major production centre for lighters, with some 500 manufacturers that export about 600m lighters a year.
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