Press Release

Final Mandelson Act Points To BRC Candle Tax Victory

15 October 2008

The end of plans to impose new EU taxes on candles from China before Christmas is being welcomed today (Wednesday) as good news for customers and a significant achievement for the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) campaign against protectionist duties.

This was one of the last decisions taken by then EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson before his return to UK politics.  

The BRC is now calling on his successor Baroness Ashton to show she accepts customers’ interests come before those of a few protectionist-minded manufacturers by confirming candle duties are dead forever and removing the so called ‘anti-dumping’ duties from all consumer products.

The candle tax plans have been quietly dropped from the agenda of the EU anti-dumping committee, due to meet next Wednesday (22 October 2008), following sustained BRC pressure.

Earlier this year Brussels launched an investigation to decide whether it accepted claims by some European candle makers that China is selling candles into the EU at below the cost of manufacture. The BRC has forcefully made the case that feather bedding European manufacturers is not in customers’ interests.

The new duty could have been introduced this month. It would double the dockside price of candles from China for at least five years. The Commission still has the option of reviving the plans next spring.

Stephen Robertson, Director General of the British Retail Consortium, said: “This is good news for customers and a significant achievement in the BRC’s campaign against these duties.

“Protectionism can never be a long term answer for European manufacturers. It simply pushes up shop prices.

“While cheaper candles alone will only make a small difference to customers worried about mounting inflation, an EU committed to free trade matters much more and this is a move in that direction.

“Peter Mandelson deserves praise for attempting to snuff out candle duties before leaving office. The new Commissioner must follow through and remove anti-dumping duties from other consumer products.”  

The European Commission has already imposed import duties on shoes and plastic bags from China and still plans to impose duties on imported screws but it scrapped duties on imported light bulbs earlier this year.