First it was textiles, then it was leather shoes but the next trade row between the European Union and China looks likely to concern furniture, which could further strain trading relations between the two areas. According to a report in the Financial Times, Italian and German furniture makers are in the process of making an anti-dumping complaint to the European Commission, accusing mainland furniture manufacturers of selling their goods at well below domestic European prices.

The new effort to curb cheap imports from China follows the recent anti-dumping complaint against China and Vietnam by the EU concerning the export of leather shoes. It also comes on the heels of last year's lengthy garment dispute between the EU and the mainland.

The article said the European Furniture Industry Confederation (EFIC) is expected to lodge a formal anti-dumping complaint with the Commission in the next two months covering a wide range of China-made sofas, kitchen and office chairs.

The EFIC pointed out in the report that Chinese non-upholstered swivel chairs in 2004 accounted for a 48 per cent share of EU imports, up from six per cent in 1999, reports Hong Kong Shipping Gazette.

One Italian manufacturer was quoted in the story as saying: "This is not about promoting protectionism in Europe but about respecting fair trade rules and preventing dumping."