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Trade investigative committee says China towel imports hurt business

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on August 30, 2006. It reports that according to a trade investigative committee under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, imports of cheap Chinese towels has caused real damage to Taiwan's towel industry.

The committee's ruling will be sent to the Ministry of Finance. The ministry will then have 10 days to decide whether or not to levy anti-dumping duties on the imports. Taiwan's domestic manufacturers have complained that their market is being flooded with cheap Chinese imports.

Since March 2006, the government has been investigating the issue. Now, the trade investigative committee's finding confirmed that China has been dumping its towels on the Taiwan market. This has caused substantive losses to local manufacturers.

According to the committee, imports of Chinese towels began in 2002. By 2003, China had become Taiwan's main source of supply. By 2005, Chinese imports had taken a 70-percent share of Taiwan's towel market. These Chinese towels are much cheaper and have quickly replaced Taiwan-made towels. This has forced domestic manufacturers to compete in higher-priced markets.

According to the committee, between 2002 and 2003, the prices of Taiwan-made towels were suppressed. From 2004 to 2005, the prices of Taiwan-made towels did not reflect the rise in manufacturing costs. This further indicates that Taiwan's producers could not raise their prices because of cheap Chinese imports.