The European Union (EU) should consider the interests of its importers, retailers and consumers as well as that of Chinese workers when planning to place anti-dumping tariffs on China's plastic bags, an official said Thursday.

The EU should not neglect the overall development of bilateral trade, said Chong Quan, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, adding that a decision on the case needs "cautious" consideration.

The EU trade commission is planning to place tariffs of 15.2 percent on plastic bags from China. The final decision is expected to come by the end of September.

By July 18, 107 Chinese producers appealed. However, the commission will select only 10 from them for further investigation and decide whether to give them market economy treatment.

The other 97 producers will have to suffer the 15.2 percent tariffs without a chance of investigation or explanation.

The EU trade commission gave no reasonable explanations on why the 97 producers were discriminated, Chong said.

"It went against the World Trade Organization's regulations on anti-dumping," the spokesman said.

Chong also said plastic bags, as one of China's major exports, provides many work opportunities in the most populous country.

EU launched anti-dumping investigations on China's plastic bags on June 30 last year, involving more than one thousand Chinese companies.

Source: Xinhua