APP has responded to the Confederation of European Fine Paper Industries (Cepifine)’s accusations of unfair pricing, which led to an EU investigation earlier this year.
Cepifine asserted that Chinese fine paper manufacturers purposefully sell below cost in Europe to undercut European competition, a practice known as price dumping, or predatory pricing.
As a result of the complaint, the EU launched a formal investigation in February to disover the validity of the claims and determine if harm had been done to the European industry.
APP calls Cepifine’s report “factually inaccurate and misleading” and says that the resulting EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidiary investigations could pose a “serious threat” to the European printers and publishers.
The company refuted allegations of “massive” government subsidies for Chinese companies, and also asserted that there was actually no significant price difference between Chinese and European prices.
It also countered claims that Chinese companies cause deforestation in Indonesia, stating that the Indonesian government only designates three percent of its landmass for pulpwood plantations, and branding the accusation as “opportunist”.
More detail on APP’s counterclaims and the timeline of the investigation can be found here.