EU lawmakers reject market economy status for PRC

European Union lawmakers have voted against granting market economy status to China in a blow to Beijing’s hopes to win the stamp of economic approval by December.
The lawmakers said in a resolution yesterday that China’s excess production capacity and cut-price exports are having “strong social, economic and environmental consequences in the EU.”
They noted that 56 of the EU’s current 73 anti-dumping measures apply to imports from China.
The resolution was passed by 546 votes to 28, with 77 abstentions.
China is the EU’s second biggest trading partner, with daily trade flows worth more than 1 billion euros.
Beijing argues that it should automatically win market economy status after Dec. 11, under the World Trade Organization’s accession protocol. AP