EU files WTO complaint against China over steel fasteners

GENEVA: The European Union has filed a complaint against China at the World Trade Organisation over Beijing's anti-dumping system for imports of steel fasteners, an EU official said on Monday.

"We have asked China for consultations about provisional anti-dumping measures on steel fasteners," the official at the EU's mission to the WTO in Geneva told AFP.

Consultations are the first step in the WTO's dispute system.

The EU disputes the way China calculates the extent of dumping on steel fasteners such as nuts and bolts for dumping and the resulting penalty taxes imposed on imports from the EU.

Dumping occurs when exports are sold at below the price on their home market. The 153 WTO member states have a right to levy extra tax.