Air conditioner firms may face anti-dumping probe

(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-11 08:38


Customers look at air conditioners at a department store in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, June 5, 2006. [newsphoto]

But the nation's air conditioner exports slowed down this year. Foreign buyers purchased 22.4 million Chinese air conditioners in the first seven months of this year, an 8.5 per cent increase year-on-year, the slowest growth in recent years, said Hu.

Industry insiders said this is largely because anti-dumping and technical barriers have been erected in the major destinations for Chinese exports, such as the European Union and Turkey.

A 25 per cent tariff has been imposed on all China-made air conditioners in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive came into effect in July, which prohibits the sale of electronic products containing six hazardous substances.

The regulation allows a maximum concentration of only 0.1 per cent by weight of environmentally hazardous substances such as lead and mercury, which are widely used in the production of electrical products.
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