LHC dismisses petition against anti-dumping duty

KARACHI: In a major development for the domestic steel industry, the Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed numerous petitions filed by commercial importers against the anti-dumping duty on different steel products.

“Yes, the LHC has dismissed over 100 petitions of steel importers against the anti-dumping duty on steel products,” a top steel industry official confirmed on Wednesday.

The outcome would support domestic manufacturers of cold rolled coils (CRC).

Domestic CRC producers say the government should continue to support the local industry by slapping anti-dumping duties so that new jobs are created in the country. The National Tariff Commission (NTC) on January 19 imposed definitive anti-dumping duty in the range of 13.17%-19.04% on imports of CRC/Sheets importable from China and Ukraine for a period of five years.

However, commercial steel importers filed multiple petitions in the LHC against these anti-dumping duties as well as against the National Tariff Commission (NTC) as an entity itself.

Considering the problems of importers, an interim relief was granted to some importers who had cargoes at sea.

“In today’s hearing, the Court has dismissed around 100 petitions against the anti-dumping duty and formation of NTC,” Topline Securities reported on Wednesday. As a result, the anti-dumping duty would be effective from the date mentioned above and those importers who were granted relief will be asked to pay outstanding dues.

In September last year, the NTC was made operational after remaining virtually defunct for more than a year when the prime minister appointed its chairman and four other members, fulfilling longstanding demands of local industries to address the issues.

The government failed to appoint NTC members, despite the enactment of its act, making the important body virtually dysfunctional for the past one year.

Moreover, the domestic industry continued to suffer due to non-action against dumping - a practice where low-priced foreign goods make their way into the domestic market, rendering local industries uncompetitive.

Under the new law, the functions of the NTC include advising the federal government on tariff and other trade measures to provide assistance to and improve competitiveness of the domestic industry.

Other key functions of the NTC are trade remedies for problems being faced by domestic producers and exporters, tariff rationalisation and proposals for tariff reforms, removal of tariff anomalies and any other matter relating to tariff or trade measures that the federal government may refer to the commission.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2017.

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