EU tariff threatens to raise hard drive price

European hard drive prices are expected to rise after the European Commission (EC) extended its anti-dumping tariffs to Indonesia, which produces as many as 100 million 3.5in diskettes a year.

The EC has imposed a tariff of over 40 per cent on Indonesia, following similar action against other countries including the US, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Mexico.

A representative of Ideal Hardware said he expected the extension to increase prices: 'The EU tariff is important. Will the EU put anti-dumping legislation into the statute book?,' he said, adding: 'As prices rise in the US, are the stocks going to come here? It comes down to - can we make more money out of it?'

Even the threat of EU legislation puts the prices of storage up, the representative pointed out. However, such price rises and anti-dumping duties were good for distributors.

'It puts the brokers at a disadvantage because, although they engage in arbitrage, they don't have long-term relationships with the vendors and they're not normally financially viable anyway.'

All the Far East manufacturers - apart from Taiwan - are desperate for foreign currency, because of the collapse of their local economies. But the EU has decided that it does not need to penalise Macao and Thailand.

The far-reaching tariffs followed an investigation into foreign imports of 3.5in diskettes, prompted by European manufacturers of the floppies.