Domestic optical fiber makers say they are somewhat disappointed with a final Ministry of Commerce anti-dumping ruling made that lowered penalty tariff rates on some US competitors.

However, some said they may not apply for a review because of a lack of evidence. The last day for an appeal is January 15.

But they will be keenly collecting related information to launch a possible petition in August or September, some said after a meeting among major Chinese fiber makers held last weekend in Beijing.

On January 1, China's foreign trade watchdog, the commerce ministry, ruled in a final judgment that punitive tariffs ranging from 7 to 46 per cent will be imposed on the imports of dispersion unshifted single-mode optical fibers from Japan, South Korea and the United States.

The US firm, Corning, the world's largest fibre maker, was ruled to be dumping its products at a margin of 1.51 per cent, a slight enough rate to escape penalty duties, according to Chinese law.

It was ruled to be dumping at a margin of 16 per cent in June 2004, according to a preliminary judgment by ministry officials.

"The final margin is beyond our previous prediction. It is very hard for us to accept the ruling on Corning," said Yu Weichang, a spokesman for the Wuhan-based Yangtze Optical Fiber and Cable Company, one of two Chinese companies that initiated the anti-dumping appeal in 2003.

"The fiber prices will not see big increases after the final ruling," Yu said. "That will smash our early hopes of protecting our market and interest through legal means under the World Trade Organization."

Corning insisted that it has never dumped in China, without disclosing the prices of its products.

The Chinese companies complained that Corning did not disclose all data in the anti-dumping investigations, but the US company argued that its statistics are confidential.

"Our company is satisfied with the final ruling of the commerce ministry," said Lu Rong, a spokesperson for Corning.

"The investigation of the ministry is open, fair and transparent," she added.

Insiders said the price of the optical fibers, which are widely used for long-distance communications and television cables, were over 1,000 yuan (US$120) per kilometer at the beginning of 2001, but sharply declined to some 120 yuan (US$14.5) in 2002 and 2003 as foreign products flooded into the Chinese market.

The abrupt decrease was a big blow to domestic fiber makers, who saw their profits decline.

In an attempt to protect their interests, Yangtze and Jiangsu-based Fasten Photonics Co filed a petition to the ministry, asking for a 20 per cent anti-dumping tariff on the US and Japanese companies and a 30 per cent on South Korea.

In its preliminary judgment made in June of last year, the ministry ruled that 7 per cent and 32 per cent duties would be imposed on two South Korean companies, and 46 per cent duties would be placed on other US and South Korean enterprises and all Japanese fiber manufacturers.

The ministry did not change its ruling on imports from Japanese and South Korean companies in its final judgment.

China, the recently declared world's third largest importer, did not launch any anti-dumping cases until 1997, but by 2004, there have been 34 anti-dumping charges and one safeguard measure.

Experts said Chinese companies are cautious in launching anti-dumping cases, but they are learning to shield themselves within the framework of the World Trade Organization to survive severe overseas competition.

Source: China Daily