BRUSSELS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The European Union said on Tuesday that it began to investigate whether Chinese exporters of sodium gluconate sell the product in the 27-nation bloc below cost as EU producers claimed.
The inquiry is designed to determine whether sodium gluconate is being dumped and whether this dumping has caused injury, the European Commission, the EU's executive body said in the Official Journal.
The commission will have nine months to make a decision on whether to slap six-month provisional anti-dumping duties and EU member states have 15 months to decide whether to impose a five-year definitive tariffs on Chinese exporters.
The investigation came as it received a complaint on June 30 from the European Chemical Industry Council on behalf of producers that occupy more than 50 percent of EU output of sodium gluconate.
The European producers claimed that Chinese exporters of sodiumgluconate sold their product in the EU at a price lower than cost, said the commission.
Sodium gluconate is used in the construction, metals and food industries.
In the face of financial crisis, the EU has frequently resorted to punitive tariffs on Chinese products such as steel rods, fasteners and shoes, on baseless charges.
The practice of protectionism is no good to world trade and the recovery of the world economy, experts here say, adding that it hurts not only Chinese exporters but also European consumers.