The Hindu Business Line : India tops in using anti-dumping probes as trade defensive tool

The number of initiations of new anti-dumping investigations worldwide continued its recently noticeable declining trend during the first half of this year. But India keeps its head high on deploying this trade defensive measure with its new initiations of dumping probe during January-June 2006 standing by far the highest at 20.

According to the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation Secretariat, during January-June 2006, 20 members reported initiating a total of 87 new investigations, down from 105 initiations in the corresponding period of 2005. But the number of new final measures increased to 71 during this period, against 55 such measures applied during Jan-June 2005.

The toppers

Members reporting the most new initiations during the period under review were in descending order: India, with 20 new investigations, up from 14 during the corresponding period of 2005; the European Union 17, Australia nine and Argentina, Indonesia and Turkey at five each.

Israel and the United States, which had reported new initiations in the first half of 2005, reported no new probes during the first half of 2006.

China remains the most frequent subject of anti-dumping inquires, accounting for 32 of the 87 new initiations, compared with 23 out of 105 during January-June 2005.

The United States and Chinese Taipei were distant seconds, with six new probes each directed at their exports, followed by Thailand (5) and the EU, Japan, Korea and Malaysia each of which was the subject of four new probes.

Products under probe

Products that were most frequently subject to the reported new investigations during January-June 2006 were in the base metals sector (19), followed by machinery (16), plastics (13) and chemicals (11). Of the 19 initiations reported in respect of base meals, five each were reported by Australia and Indonesia, three by Canada, two each by the EU and India and one each by Colombia and Mexico.

On new final anti-dumping measures, China reported applying the largest number of 15 during the first half of 2006, up from 10 reported for Jan-June 2005. India reported eight new measures and Egypt seven during the first half of 2006, compared with seven and zero respectively during the corresponding half of 2005.

China main target

WTO said products exported from China continued as the most frequent subject of new measures, accounting for 15 of the new measures reported for the first half of 2006, down from 18 one year earlier. India and Korea were in second place, with six measures, respectively during the first half of 2005.

Concerning the sectors hit by the new anti-dumping measures, products in the chemicals sector were the most frequent subject of new measures during January-June 2006, accounting for 23 of the 71 total new measures reported. The plastics sector was next, with 14 new measures, while third was the textile sector, with nine measures. This is followed by base metals with seven measures.

Of the 23 reported new measures on products in the chemicals sector, China applied 15, followed by India three, Argentina two and Egypt, the European Union and Pakistan one each.