The report said EU was probing exports from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Tunisia.
"The investigators will have to find out whether exports from Sri Lanka are genuine or bypassing the regulations," the newspaper quoted EU's Sri Lanka representative Bernard Savage as saying.
The EU has slapped a 48.5 percent 'anti-dumping' duty for 19 years on Chinese bicycle exports.
'Anti-dumping' duties are the latest protectionist measure devised by national 'domestic production' lobbies in countries where ordinary citizens have already seen through the tax-arbitraging racket of overt protectionism.
The probe against Sri Lanka was opened on a request by the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association, The Sunday Times said.An exporter who sells a good in foreign markets 'below cost' either has to sell 'above cost' in the domestic market at the expensive of their own citizens (assuming there is no competition) or get state subsidies at the expense of tax payers in the home country.
Both actions will reduce the living standards of people in the exporting country.
The nationalist argument for 'anti-dumping' as in the case of overt protectionism is that 'domestic jobs are lost'.
However economists have pointed out that any good that is sold at a lower price will increase the disposable income of citizens in the importing country, giving them additional purchasing power to buy other goods.
The additional spending creates more employment overall increasing their living standards.
The very same that impose import taxes to push up prices, reduce competition and expand profits of crony-nationalist businesses will also have other arms that prosecute domestic firms for 'collusive pricing' and 'monopoly behaviour'.
The Obama administration which is doling out billion of dollars to 'renewable energy' firms recently slapped anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made solar panels.
