Dumping duties: Pakistan second in S. Asia
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Pakistan has become the second country in South Asia after India to have guarded its borders from cheaper imports as Islamabad imposed four final anti-dumping duties during the first half--January-June 2007-- of the current calendar year, a WTO report says.
Concerning application of new final anti-dumping measures--imposition of additional customs duty besides normal duty--, India, with 16, reported the largest number during the first half of 2007, doubling the eight new measures it reported during the corresponding period of 2006.
The WTO secretariat reported in a report sent to member countries that during the period January 30 - June 2007, the number of initiations of new anti-dumping investigations declined sharply, dropping by 47 per cent compared with the number during the corresponding period of 2006. The number of new measures also declined, by 20 per cent among the 151 member countries.
Argentina, reporting seven new final anti-dumping duties during the January-June 2007 period, was second, followed by the European Communities (six) , China (five), Pakistan (four) , and Canada, Colombia, Turkey, and the United States (three each). These figures represented declines from the corresponding period of 2006 for China, Pakistan and Turkey, and increases for Argentina, Canada, Colombia, the European Communities, and the United States. Australia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Peru, South Africa, and Chinese Taipei, each reported applying one new measure during the first half of 2007.
On global level, during January-June 2007, 13 members reported initiating a total of 49 new investigations, compared with 92 initiations in the corresponding period of 2006.
A total of 16 members reported applying 57 new final anti-dumping measures during the first semester of 2007, compared with 71 new measures reported by 15 members for the corresponding period of 2006.
Seventeen of the 49 new initiations were opened by developed members, and 14 of the 57 new final measures were applied by developed members, during the first half of 2007.
This compares with 37 new initiations opened and 10 new measures applied by developed members during the first half of 2006.
The member reporting the highest number of new initiations during January-June 2007 was India, with 13, followed by New Zealand (6).
Ranked next were Korea (five); Brazil, China and Japan (four each); Argentina and South Africa (three each); Mexico and the United States (two each); and Chile, Colombia and Egypt (one each).
These figures represented declines for Argentina, Egypt, India, and Mexico compared with the first half of 2006, and increases for Brazil, Chile, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States.
In addition, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, the European Communities, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Peru, Chinese Taipei, and Turkey, each of which reported new initiations for the first half of 2006, reported no new initiations for the first half of 2007.
China remained the most frequent subject of the new investigations, with 16 initiations directed at its exports during January-June 2007, down sharply from the 31 new investigations on exports from China that were reported for the corresponding period of 2006.
Chinese Taipei, the European Communities (including individual member States) and Korea were the second most frequent subjects, with four initiations of new investigations each directed at their exports during the first half of 2007, compared with seven, four and five, respectively, during the first half of 2006.
India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and the United States were tied for third place, with two initiations each in respect of their exports, compared with three, two, five, five and seven initiations, respectively, during January-June 2006.
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong China, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and Uruguay, were the subject of one initiation each during the January-June 2007 period.
The products that were most frequently subject to the reported new investigations during the first half of 2007 were in the chemicals sector (24 initiations), followed by pulp and paper (nine initiations) and plastics (six initiations).
Of the 24 reported initiations in respect of chemicals products, India reported 10, China and Japan each reported four, the United States reported two, and Argentina, Brazil, Korea, and South Africa each reported one.
Products exported from China remained the most frequent subject of new measures - accounting for 22 of the 57 new measures reported for the first half of 2007 compared with 15 new measures on products from China during the corresponding period of 2006. Chinese Taipei was in second place, with its exports subject to four new measures, compared with three during the first half of 2006.
India, Indonesia, Korea and Thailand each were subject to three new measures during the first half of 2007. Argentina, Brazil, the European Communities (including individual member States), Hong Kong China, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam, each were the subject of fewer than three new measures during the first half of 2007.
Dumping duties: Pakistan second in S. Asia -DAWN - Business; November 01, 2007
, representing the people affected by mega water projects, on Wednesday urged the World Bank (WB) to stop funding for these projects which were causing economic, environmental and social losses in addition to massive dislocation of the local people. 
