BRUSSELS: The European Union has agreed new rules allowing it to impose duties more rapidly and at a higher level on excessively cheap imports, part of a strategy to shore up its defenses in a new trading relationship with China. Representatives from the European Commission, the Parliament and the 28 member states agreed on a text late on Tuesday, ending around four years of wrangling. “Better late than never,” said EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom. “The EU stands for open and rules-based trade, but we must ensure that others do not take advantage of our openness.” Under the reforms, which could come into force in March after clearance by the parliament and EU member states, the Commission would be able to impose provisional duties after seven or eight months, versus nine at present. It would also involve a change to the EU’s “lesser duty rule”. The rule means duties are set at a level to remove the injury to EU producers, rather than a higher rate required to push the exporter’s price to what is deemed fair and normal – known as the “dumping margin”. Duties could in future be set at the full dumping margin rate if a raw material or energy input representing at least 17 percent of the cost of production is distorted, particularly under the influence of the state. Even if the lesser duty rule is applied, duties would have to reflect a minimum profit margin of 6 percent as well costs related to international labor and environment agreements, such as the Paris climate accord, if they were not observed in the exporting country. Published in Daily Times, December 7th 2017.