Global Fastener News

British Distributors Concerned Antidumping Tariffs Will Raise Fastener Prices

John Wolz

The British Association of Fastener Distributors warned that tariffs based on an anti-dumping case would result in fastener price increases in the UK. “We are not talking 4 or 5% here. We are facing the potential of increases probably upwards of 40%,” BAFD vice chairman Geoff Hopwood told Fastener & Fixing Europe magazine. Hopwood is leading the BAFD campaign against antidumping measures.

In November 2007 the European Commission launched an antidumping investigation against a wide range of carbon steel fasteners imported from China. The investigation is in response to a complaint lodged by European fastener manufacturers, led by producers in Italy. The complaint alleges dumping margins between 90% and 195% on commonly used fasteners, such as woodscrews, hexagonal head bolts, socket screws, self tapping screws and washers. A decision on preliminary tariffs could be made as early as this month and no later than August.

“While there are Asian alternatives to China for these types of products they are definitely higher priced and they would be totally swamped if demand was switched away from China, with unknown consequences for price, quality and delivery. Tariffs at anything like these levels would cause chaos in world fastener markets,” Hopwood says. “We do not believe the capacity exists in Europe to respond to any switch in demand and, anyway, some of the European producers that lodged the complaint, are already understood to be planning price increases in anticipation of high tariffs.”

“If tariffs are applied, BAFD members, in common with all UK fastener distributors, will have no choice but to pass on cost increases, which are entirely the result of factors outside their control,” according to Hopwood. “The level of potential increase involved is impossible to absorb. British industry and consumers will be forced to pay higher fastener prices as a result of market distorting duties, which are unlikely to benefit British fastener producers, most of which manufacture more specialist products.”

Hopwood urged British industry and consumers to contact the UK Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to object to tariffs. Web: berr.gov.uk Hopwood can be contact via BAFD. E-mail: info@bafd.org Web: bafd.org �2008 FastenerNews.com and Fastener & Fixing Europe