Confindustria Ceramica

30   Giugno   2014

2014 congress of European Ceramic Tile Federation CET

The 2014 Executive Board Meeting and Members’ Meeting of CET, the European Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Federation, was held from 26 to 28 June in Rome

The event was organised by Confindustria Ceramica and saw the participation of some fifty representatives of Spain, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Turkey, UK, Finland and Sweden.

The meetings addressed key issues for the competitiveness of the European ceramic industry, including technical standards for manufacture and use of products (e.g. Product Category Rules for product environmental declarations, for which a continent-wide agreement was reached), commercial and non-commercial barriers to access to non-EU markets, free trade negotiations, including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) for the creation of a single EU-USA free trade area (the European federation unanimously backed eliminating customs duties on the import of European ceramic tiles into the USA as a major priority), and the revision of product tariff classifications. The analysis of the economic situation focused on the effects of anti-dumping measures on imports of Chinese ceramic tiles into Europe, while a number of key environment and energy issues for the sector were discussed in detail, including carbon leakage and the Emissions Trading System.

During the meeting, Confindustria Ceramica chairman Vittorio Borelli thanked participants and stressed “the importance of European collaboration”, noting that “it was in Rome that the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community was initially signed back in 1957”. Jose Lois Lanuza, chairman of CET, thanked his predecessor Alfonso Panzani and presented him with a plaque in honour of the results achieved during the four years of his chairmanship.

The meeting also included a private visit to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, an unexpected cultural event that was greeted with enthusiasm by all participants.