THE European Commission proposed Thursday a one-year extension of anti-dumping duties that raise the price of Chinese-made energy-efficient light bulbs by 66 percent, the Brussels-based executive and regulatory arm of the European Union (EU) said.

The commission had previously planned to lift the duties this autumn.

“It is in the community’s interest to discontinue these measures in the next year,” the commission said in a statement, adding: “This will allow a further period of up to one year in which EU companies can adjust to new patterns of production and trade before the duties are discontinued.”

The commission’s change of mind on scrapping the duties immediately is largely due to pressure from its German Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen, who worries that dropping the tariff immediately could cost jobs at Siemens AG’s Osram light bulb unit, an EU official said. Verheugen’s spokesman declined to comment on the issue except to say that Verheugen is satisfied with Thursday’s proposal.

The duties increase the cost of the light bulbs by an additional 66 percent of their original wholesale price. Imposed in 2001, they are meant to combat “dumping” of the Chinese light bulbs being sold on the EU market at prices which the commission says are below the cost of production.

Representatives from China’s mission to the EU were not immediately available to comment on the issue.

Extending the duties even one more year would be a blow to the consumer electronics division of Royal Philips Electronics NV, which manufactures energy-saving light bulbs in China, and a win for Osram. Osram has lobbied to keep the tariffs in place, saying the low-cost Chinese imports damage European manufacturers.

“Osram appreciates that our arguments regarding free trade and fair competition are being acknowledged by the EU in the consultation,” the firm said in a statement. (SD-Agencies)