MUMBAI, MARCH 16: The European Commission (EC) will consider the position of the majority of European nations who have voted against imposing provisional anti-dumping duties on unbleached cotton from six developing countries including India, according to Patrick Laurent, EC deputy head, anti-dumping unit (Brussels).Though Laurent did not wish to comment on any of the ongoing procedures, including the proposed anti-subsidy duty on antibiotics, he stressed that anti-dumping measures should not be viewed as a political instrument. Laurent was in Mumbai to address a seminar on anti-dumping, jointly organised by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Council of EU Chambers of Commerce in India.Agency reports had earlier said that nine EU nations had voted against the reimposition of provisional anti-dumping duties ranging from 14 per cent to 33 per cent on unbleached cotton imports from India, Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan. Four nations including France and Portugal had voted in favourof the imposition of provisional duties. The EC is, however, not bound by the majority decision of the member states.Laurent said that most of the problems of the Indian exporter on the anti-dumping front are mainly due to inadequate information on such proceedings. He, however, added that there had been a growing realisation among developing nations on dumping, given that the number of proceedings initiated by such countries at 53 per cent outstripped those brought up by the industrialised world at 47 per cent."Indian exporters must realise that dumping is a serious issue and an export drive must come from a genuine comparative advantage and not a mere price differentiation between the home market and the export front," he pointed out.Asked what were the key issues he planned to take up with the Indian government, Laurent said, "There is no fixed agenda, but it is an occasion for both sides to clarify any misunderstanding." He made a particular reference to the slow pace at which Indian authoritiesrespond to EC queries or clarifications when anti-dumping investigations are launched.Earlier, president of the Council of the EU Chambers of Commerce in India, M Y Noorani urged the EC to do away with allegedly discriminatory policies and practices being followed to provide preferential treatment to certain trading partners.He cited the example of exports of stainless steel fastners from India which is subjected to a provisional duty of 53.6 per cent, while those from Taiwan attracted a duty of just between 8.3 per cent and 12.5 per cent.
