EU Commission to change trade defence rules in response to China

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it would propose changing the way it calculates unfair dumping and subsidies in response to China's demand that it be treated like a normal market economy by the end of the year.

European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen told a news conference that the new approach would not lead to a sharp reduction in duties. He also advocated speeding up the time it takes for tariffs to apply.

The Commission, which will make a formal proposal later this year, said that instead of comparing Chinese export prices to those of a third country, such as in the United States, it would make the comparison between Chinese and international prices.

(Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)