Cheap CFLs in EU: threat or threatened?
Cheap CFLs in EU: threat or threatened?
The large European lighting manufacturersÑPhilips, Osram and SLIÑhave
filed complaints with the European Commission that Chinese-made compact
fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are being dumped in the EU market. If the European
Commission finds that the claims are just, it may impose import tariffs
as high as 212%. This would hurt not only Asian brands but also lamps
built to fit the specifications of large European or global companies,
such as Ikea.
The three lighting manufacturers claim that lamps are sold in Europe at prices below the local prices in China for an equivalent lamp. The prices of imported lamps are hard to meet for the European manufacturers, who claim their quality is superior to that of the imported lamps. In Germany, one of OsramÕs CFLs costs DEM22 (~US $10) in the retail stores, whereas a Chinese lamp of equivalent wattage and type costs only DEM 7 (~$3.20). In Sweden IKEA currently sells a self-ballasted, Chinese-made 11-W CFL at only SEK 12 (~$1.20) and at similar prices elsewhere in Europe.
The three companies claim that some 90 million CFLs are being dumped into the European market annually. They also claim that the import rate to Europe is growing at 65% annually. A number of importers and retailers as well as Chinese producers are contending the claims. They point to cheap labor factories operated in Poland by Philips and in Hungary by GE Lighting as examples.
The Commission must rule on the issue no later than May 2001, but the decision may very well come earlier.
One possible scenario, as reported in Lighting Equipment News, is that the Commission would want to impose raised tariffs, but such a decision would be stopped by the individual nations on environmental grounds.
The issue is sensitive: If tariffs were to be raised, there is no guarantee that consumers would buy more expensive CFLs instead of the cheaper ones on which new tariffs have been imposed. Consumers might just as well revert to buying simple but cheap GLS lamps instead. The environmental issue is indeed a sensitive one, in the light of the breakdown of the climate negotiations in the Hague, where Europe had a high environmental profile.
(Source: Lighting Equipment News)