The European Commission will launch an investigation into alleged unfair practices by Chinese telecoms equipment makers if negotiations with Chinese authorities do not result in an acceptable solution.
China’s largest equipment vendors are ZTE and…
The European Commission will launch an investigation into alleged unfair practices by Chinese telecoms equipment makers if negotiations with Chinese authorities do not result in an acceptable solution.
China’s largest equipment vendors are ZTE and Huawei.
The investigation would be launched “ex officio”. This means that the enquiry is not initiated at the behest of third parties – such as European competitors – but the EC itself.
The EC launches ex officio investigations particularly in situations where it believes that complainants could be subject to retaliation.
A spokesperson for EC trade commissioner Karel de Gucht noted in a press briefing in Brussels today that the investigation would not be launched for the time being to allow for negotiations towards an amicable solution with Chinese authorities. He refused to give a precise deadline but said that “the clock is ticking” and that the EC was hoping that Chinese authorities would now engage with Brussels “in a serious manner”.
He also confirmed that the regulator had looked into alleged unfair practices of Chinese telecoms vendors for about a year.
The potential anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation, for which de Gucht has received backing from the college of European commissioners, could result in sanctions on Chinese vendors, such as import duties.
China exports telecommunication network equipment to the EU market with a value of approximately just over €1bn per year, according to the EC.
