Chinese shoppers set to become world leaders online

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Chinese shoppers set to become world leaders online

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Landmark Chinese copper deal with Afghanistan at risk

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Landmark Chinese copper deal with Afghanistan at risk

By Jessica Donati

KABUL | Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:02am EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - A consortium of Chinese investors has demanded a review of a landmark $3 billion deal to produce copper in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Mines said on Monday, putting at risk one of Kabul's greatest hopes for economic independence.

It said China Metallurgical Group (MCC) CNMET.UL and Jiangxi Copper JXPROM.UL want new terms that would cut their royalties to the government, release them from building a power plant and copper smelter, and postpone the laying of a railway.

"The Afghan government is trying its best ... to negotiate with the company but contract conditions are clear and previously both sides have agreed about it," a spokesman for the ministry said.

An independent anti-corruption monitor, Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA), said the Chinese venture also wanted to delay the start of production by five years to 2019.

A spokesman in China for the consortium declined to comment immediately.

The copper deposit is among the world's largest but is situated in a dangerous province and the site has often come under attack by insurgents, who have succeed in halting work on the mine by forcing workers to flee.

Donors hope the largest foreign investment project in Afghan history will help wean it off international aid, which is expected to fall short of the amount needed to pay for its security forces and sustain economic growth.

IWA said that renegotiating the deal, which was agreed in 2007, would dramatically reduce the benefit to Afghanistan and set a bad precedent for others seeking to invest in the already unpredictable country.

"The terms of the contract they want to renegotiate were the terms that made them the winners in the bidding process," said Javed Noorani of IWA.

Noorani said the Chinese investors were seeking to cut royalty payments to the government by almost half to 10 percent as well as delay production to 2019.

The Afghan president is expected to travel to China with the minister of mines to discuss salvaging the project. The government was split between accommodating Chinese demands and cancelling the contract.

"Others for strategic reasons want it to happen... so China remains committed to helping Afghanistan when the money dries up in this country," Noorani continued.

Once production starts, the mine will generate a quarter of a billion dollars a year and create around 75,000 jobs, according to a "low-impact" scenario by the World Bank.

(Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by John Chalmers and William Hardy)

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EU requests WTO panel on Chinese duties on steel tubes

An European Union flag flutters outside of the European Parliament in Brussels October 12, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Francois Lenoir

BRUSSELS | Fri Aug 16, 2013 7:16am EDT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has asked the World Trade Organisation to rule in a dispute over Chinese anti-dumping duties on imports of high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes from the EU.

The EU lodged a complaint at the WTO over the duties in June and consultations were held in July but they did not resolve the dispute and the EU is now asking the WTO to set up a panel to rule on the case.

The case is one of a series of high-profile trade disputes that have broken out between China and the 28-nation EU, led by a quarrel over alleged dumping of Chinese solar panels in Europe that was defused in July.

"The EU continues its fight against unjustified Chinese trade defense measures, which do not comply with WTO rules and often seem to be motivated by retaliation," EU trade spokesman John Clancy said in a statement on Friday.

EU exports to China of high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes, used in power plants, were worth around 90 million euros ($119 million) in 2009, but fell to under 20 million euros around the time that China imposed definitive anti-dumping duties in November 2012, the EU says.

Since then, it said the duties of 9.7 percent to 11.1 percent imposed on imports of steel tubes from the EU were significantly hampering access to the Chinese market.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Justyna Pawlak and Alison Williams)

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This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

EU requests WTO panel on Chinese duties on steel tubes

An European Union flag flutters outside of the European Parliament in Brussels October 12, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Francois Lenoir

BRUSSELS | Fri Aug 16, 2013 7:16am EDT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has asked the World Trade Organisation to rule in a dispute over Chinese anti-dumping duties on imports of high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes from the EU.

The EU lodged a complaint at the WTO over the duties in June and consultations were held in July but they did not resolve the dispute and the EU is now asking the WTO to set up a panel to rule on the case.

The case is one of a series of high-profile trade disputes that have broken out between China and the 28-nation EU, led by a quarrel over alleged dumping of Chinese solar panels in Europe that was defused in July.

"The EU continues its fight against unjustified Chinese trade defense measures, which do not comply with WTO rules and often seem to be motivated by retaliation," EU trade spokesman John Clancy said in a statement on Friday.

EU exports to China of high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes, used in power plants, were worth around 90 million euros ($119 million) in 2009, but fell to under 20 million euros around the time that China imposed definitive anti-dumping duties in November 2012, the EU says.

Since then, it said the duties of 9.7 percent to 11.1 percent imposed on imports of steel tubes from the EU were significantly hampering access to the Chinese market.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Justyna Pawlak and Alison Williams)

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