China welcomes WTO ruling on fastener imports from EU

China's fastener industry welcomed the World Trade Organization's decision to require the European Union to eliminate inconsistent anti-dumping measures on the basis of the appellate body ruling as soon as possible.

The industry's response came after China scored a major victory in its seven-year trade dispute with the EU on Monday after the WTO ruled in favor of Chinese fastener manufacturers.

Wang Guiqing, vice-president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, said it is worth mentioning that the purpose for China to bring the dispute before the WTO dispute settlement body is to ensure that the EU implements its obligations under WTO and complies with WTO rules, in order to restore a fair and healthy trade order.

"We believe that there will be no adverse effects on the EU by eliminating the inconsistent measures, because either the China-EU trade in general, or the China-EU fasteners trade in particular is mutually complementary," said Wang. China is the most attractive market for EU fasteners, because Chinese and European fasteners are complementary.

According to China's customs statistics, the total value of import of EU's fasteners into China increased by 2.44 times from $285 million in 2007 to $695 million in 2014.

The EU fastener industry enjoyed great market access and benefits in China due to the fact that the Chinese automobile market has developed rapidly in recent years.