Tariff commission: Local industry at risk in absence of NTC head

FPCCI chief asks govt to immediately fill vacant slot

KARACHI:

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Zakaria Usman has asked the government to immediately appoint a chairperson of the National Tariff Commission (NTC).

In a statement, Usman said it was important not to keep the post vacant for long, since several essential steps depended on it. The commission plays the role of an administrator of trade defence laws pertaining to Pakistan’s international treaty obligations and functions as a think tank for the government.

“A leaderless NTC may not be able to protect the local industry in case of anti-dumping investigations into imports,” he pointed out.

For the protection of the industry, Usman said, countervailing investigations were pending, causing harm to the domestic industry.

NTC judgments on sectors like ceramics and paper, based on anti-dumping claims, have been delayed in the absence of the commission chairman.

Anti-dumping duty is a protective tariff the government imposes on foreign imports, which are believed to be made below the fair market value. In Pakistan, the anti-dumping ordinance was introduced in 2000 and it gives the NTC the powers to process an application against dumping of goods in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2014.

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