Starch Europe deeply regrets the explanation by the Canadian authorities in its Statement of Reasons, published in August, to impose duties on exports of wheat gluten from certain EU Member States. This decision confirms the Findings of the Canadian International Tribunal (CITT), published on 22 April. The decision of the CITT followed the final determination of dumping issued by the Canadian Border Service Agency.

The new duties range from 10,0 % to 26,2%.

The decision of the Canadian authorities has been taken despite the repeated comments provided by Starch Europe, EU institutions and producing EU companies, that the investigation relied on a misleading assessment of the structure of the EU starch industry, and the absence of injury.

Anti-dumping duties are applied despite the absence of proof of any injury suffered by Canadian producing companies

Starch Europe and its Member companies regret a hastily one-sided preliminary decision taken in December 2020, 4 months after the launch of the investigations in August 2020, and despite active contribution from the EU industry. Since August 2020, EU wheat gluten companies located in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Lithuania provided detailed information, notably data proving that conditions of imports of wheat gluten from these EU countries on the Canadian market were aligned with global market conditions. As an advocate of fact-based assessments, Starch Europe and its member companies producing wheat gluten based their contribution on EU public available data[1] that report price levels of EU wheat gluten exported to Canada consistent with the prices of exports to the rest of the world, and, if anything higher.

We regret that the CBSA and CITT took their decision without taking into account opposing data or facts proving a different situation, and substantiating their assessment.

Furthermore, this situation occurs despite closer trade ties between Canada and the EU, since the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. In the context of these supposed closer trade ties, combined with the current challenging economic environment, the decision of the Canadian authorities is all the more regrettable.

[1] COMEXT database