EU responds to Chinese state aid for two Egypt-based exporters with tarriffs
The European Union has announced its first ever levy in response to Chinese state aid for firms exporting to the bloc from outside the Asian giant.
Experts quoted by Bloomberg took note of the landmark decision
While staying within the framework of the World Trade Organisation, Brussels alleged that such help was distorting the market for glass fibre fabrics, a material used in products ranging from wind turbines to sports gear.
The two Egyptian firms involved were subsidiaries of Jushi Co. and Zhejiang Hengshi Fiberglass Fabrics Co., which operated out of the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, which had been built as part of Beijing's 'Belt and Road' initiative.
According to the European Union, those two companies obtained financial benefits from Beijing and Cairo, together with glass fibre fabrics sent straight from China.
The EU was reportedly also threatening probes into alleged Chinese state aid to two other exporters based outside the country, including one centred on the export of glass fibre reinforcements and another on shipments of stainless steel from Indonesia.