In the light of the trilogue next week on a new anti-dumping methodology, S&D Group president Gianni Pittella, stated:

"Once decided, there is no way back. The Socialists and Democrats are firmly against a 'de facto' recognition of Market Economy Status (MES) for China. We won’t go down in history as the ones who opened our market to China while completely disregarding the possibly drastic consequences for European manufacturing and industry. The S&D Group is committed to rejecting any possible rush from the European Commission to grant MES. For the time being, the conditions to finalise the trilogue agreement have not been met. 

“Our red lines are clear. We demand that no additional burden of proof is imposed on European industry. Social and environmental dumping should also be taken into consideration.

“We request that the Commission's macro-economic report, which is crucial to determine the existence of distortions, is made accessible to all parties involved in the negotiations before the end of the trilogues and published 15 days after the entry into force of the regulation at the latest.

“Finally, right at the beginning of an investigation, when significant distortions are apparent, the S&D Group believes the parties should be informed if the new or the old methodology on dumping applies. We will not accept that such a decision is only made at a later stage of the investigation.

“We want to ensure there is a smooth transition from the old to the new system. It is therefore important to have sufficient guarantees in place protecting our industry during the grandfathering period."