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Message: Some news from China ( Iron Methanol Salt Antidumping strategies )
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina China discovers 'Asia's largest' iron deposit (Xinhua) Geologists have discovered an iron ore deposit with an estimated reserve of more than 3 billion tons in northeast China's Liaoning province, or the largest in Asia, a local official said Wednesday. The newly-found deposit, mainly between 1,200 meters and 1,860 meters underground and spanning a four-km-long, three-km-wide area, is at the Qiaotou Township, Pingshan District, Benxi city, said Yu Wenli, head of the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration. "We found high-grade iron ore even at a depth of 2,015 meters," Yu said. He said that the iron ore is a mixture of magnetite and hematite, and the iron content is between 25 percent and 62 percent. "The deposit can be exploited for more than 50 years," he said. Statistics with Yu's bureau show Liaoning has abundant iron resources that account for at least a quarter of the country's total. "Although we have exploited large amounts of iron deposits over the past several decades in the province, there are still lots of deposits underground awaiting exploration," he said. A news release posted on the official website of the Benxi municipal government hailed the newly-found iron deposit as "Asia's largest for now," and said Minister of Land and Resources Xu Shaoshi made a special inspection tour of the deposit site on June 18. Xu urged local authorities to start exploitation "as quickly as possible" at the iron mine so as to make contributions to the national and local development, according to the news release. Shares of steel makers gained Wednesday, boosted by the news of the iron deposit discovery. Baosteel, the country's biggest steel mill, rose 3 percent to 7.2 yuan ($1.06). Angang Steel Co, the second-largest, surged 7.42 percent to 14.18 yuan. Shares of Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group climbed 4.52 percent to 7.4 yuan. China denies rumors of salt shortages, price hikes (Xinhua) Chinese officials and salt producers have denied rumors of salt price hikes, which led to panic buying in parts of the country. A notice released Wednesday on the website of the China National Salt Industry Corp (CNSIC), a State-owned firm, said that local governments had been told to ensure the production and distribution of salt and keep close watch on unauthorized price hikes. The notice was issued Tuesday by the National Development Reform Commission, the national economic planning agency. Prices of some necessities like salt are controlled by the government and retailers need authorization to raise prices. Mao Qingguo, general manager of CNSIC, told China Central Television Tuesday that China had more than enough salt to meet demand, so price hikes were not likely. Panic buying has been reported in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, with retailers allegedly hiking prices several times and supplies selling out. The rumors of shortages apparently arose when a salt company in Zhejiang Province closed for two days. China's salt output was about 68 million tons last year, up 7 percent from 2007, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. New strategy needed in antidumping cases By Jiang Diqing (China Daily) China may face more antidumping cases during the global economic slowdown. It is not rare for trade disputes to erupt between China and the US with more than 70 antidumping cases having been filed so far, but petitions have never been filed as frequently as they have this year. On April 23, the US International Trade Commission determined that circular welded carbon quality steel line pipes from China were sold at less than fair value in the US market, to the detriment of the domestic steel industry. The US Department of Commerce then issued an antidumping order on imports of such products from China. Less than a week later the Commerce Department initiated another investigation on certain pipes and tubes (used in the petroleum industry) from China, which covers $3 billion worth of imports, the biggest ever file by the US against China. The rapid buildup of antidumping cases is partly due to the economic crisis. In the name of pursuing fair trade, fanatic US businesses accuse China of exporting at prices below the cost of production. US steelmakers were enjoying unprecedented profit growth and even planned to expand investment last April. But these businesses have lost competitiveness as globalization continues, since China and other developing countries boast unrivaled advantages in labor and raw material costs. Fading industries in the US, such as steelmaking, have survived or enjoyed temporary prosperity in recent years because of lasting wars abroad involving the US and a lower interest rate policy during the Bush administration, which artificially spurred the property market. These industries were among the first hit when the global economy began to slow last year. With the economic crisis deepening, it is likely more US companies in declining industries will file trade cases against China and abuse of the antidumping bill could threaten free trade between the two countries. China needs to consider its response to these antidumping actions. Chinese companies have historically won few antidumping cases mainly because they are not familiar with the legislating and operational procedures of the US Antidumping Bill. Some Chinese scholars say the antidumping cases are part of a larger, undeclared Sino-US trade war and that the US government is playing a role in the cases behind the curtain. To some extent, such an opinion makes sense, but is still far from the entire picture. Daniel Ikenson, an associate director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, said the antidumping cases are conflicts between companies, rather than part of a bigger economic dispute between nations. The Commerce Department seems to be playing a key role in the cases by taking responsibility for approving investigations, handing out surveys and deciding duties. But the organization at the core of the trials is the US International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial federal agency with broad investigative responsibilities on matters of trade. The Commission consists of six commissioners with tenure of nine years, all of them nominated by the president. There are usually three Democrats and three Republicans. China should pay more attention to winning the cases by preparing persuasive information, rather than speculating on potential political motivations behind the results. The companies most likely to file antidumping suits are in fading US industries, which tend to have been operating in the red for at least four consecutive months and whose labor unions are strong. American attorneys and economists tend to select favorable data when assessing dumping rates. Chinese companies should collect the necessary data to fight back. Otherwise fairly-priced Chinese exports might be unjustly judged to be selling at a dumping price. China should nurture a host of trade experts in particular industries, such as attorneys and economists with solid theoretical knowledge and extensive experience in domestic businesses and international economics. Chinese companies should learn to deal with different governmental and non-governmental institutions in the US. They should understand that in an open society filled by various voices, such as the US, an influential interest group might not necessarily represent the greater American interest. In the US, there are think tanks representing labor unions, there are also those that advocate market economy and free trade. The latter know exactly how much the antidumping bill has been abused by certain interest groups and how much that ultimately hurts the American people. Chinese businesses should enhance cooperation and exchanges with such US institutions as well as with the US media, which could help to reduce trade disputes between the two countries. The author is the head of the China program at the Cato Institute. The article was reprinted from China Business News China starts anti-dumping probe into methanol (Xinhua) China's Ministry of Commerce has started an anti-dumping investigation into methanol imported from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia and New Zealand. The ministry would examine the scale of the alleged dumping and its damage to the domestic industry, it said in a bulletin posted on its website Wednesday. Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, is used as a basic material to produce chemical products, such as plastics, paint, construction materials and windshield washer fluid. Related readings: Related readings:
Updated: 2009-06-25 14:17
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New strategy needed in antidumping cases
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