Turkiye denounces soda ash dumping duties

Says it reserves all rights under relevant WTO agreements

ISLAMABAD:

Turkiye Ministry of Trade has expressed its regrets over the initiation of anti-dumping investigation and "unexpected" imposition of provisional measures on the import of soda ash, which will impede the operation of market forces in a competitive environment.

The government of Turkiye has conveyed its official reservations about the preliminary determination and imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of soda ash originating in Kenya and Turkiye.

Turkiye argued that imports were unlikely to exert any substantial negative impact on domestic production. "On the contrary, they may yield several positive outcomes as import diversification enhances consumer choice by providing access to a broader array of products."

Furthermore, it said, increased competition could stimulate innovation and efficiency within domestic industries, leading to improvements in both product quality and production processes. Additionally, exposure to international markets encourages local producers to align with global standards and trends, thereby strengthening their competitiveness.

Therefore, it contended, any anti-dumping measure (provisional or definitive) was not in public interest and would also harm the domestic industry in the medium to long term.

It said the Ministry of Trade Directorate General for Imports Turkiye certainly believed that the said points would be taken into consideration and the (National Tariff) Commission would act in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and relevant World Trade Organisation (WTO) jurisprudence. "Turkiye reserves all rights stemming from the related WTO agreements with regard to these proceedings," it warned. "The commission, without any concrete evidence, comes to a conclusion that economic indicators of the domestic industry showed a declining trend due to imports from Turkiye." However, for most injury parameters, the commission failed to conduct a proper and objective examination of the correlation between imports and the alleged injury, it said.

Turkiye's trade ministry pointed out that it should be taken into account that imports from the subject countries were insignificant and when they rose, the economic indicators of the domestic industry rose simultaneously. "This parallel movement undermines any causal link between imports and the claimed injury and calls into question the Commission's conclusion."