FPCCI Vice-President Engr. M.A.Jabbar presided over the meeting.
According to details available here on Monday, the meeting was organised on anti-dumping duties from the user's point of view.
The importance of Anti-dumping Ordinance for the local industry, the role of National Tariff Commission (NTC), pre-requisites of making application before the NTC were highlighted.
Presenting the recommendations, sent to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), the FPCCI Vice-President said the anti-dumping law was the best legislation to protect domestic industry against unfair imports.
"Pakistan should be plaintiff rather than respondent in anti-dumping," he said.
The recommendations related to strengthening the environment aimed at using the law for the domestic interests, Jabbar said.
Engr. Jabbar said the exporters also needed to know the law for the best advising professionals so that they could fight cases on the merits in overseas against imposition of the anti-dumping duties on the exports from Pakistan.
An expert, Saifullah Khan, who holds to his credit, representing cases before the NTC and association with foreign professionals, explained the condition under which cases could be prepared for imposition of the anti-dumping and also defending the same.
He also highlighted all aspects of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework under which the Anti-dumping Ordinance 2000 had been legislated in Pakistan to protect the industrial products from the affects of the unfair trade and dumping of similar imported goods causing injury to domestic industry.
Engr. Jabbar said the anti-dumping law was the best trade defence remedy, and in Pakistan, during the last four years only four cases had been reported in the NTC for seeking remedy to do sustainable business asking imposition of the anti-dumping duties on similar imported goods.
In India more than 200 cases of anti-dumping had been filed by the business community, he said.
Engr. Jabbar, who is also incharge of the WTO Resource Centre, briefed the participants about the recommendations made by the WTO committee members, which were put forth before the participants for information.
The following are the recommendations, approved by the participants for sending to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC):
-- Prepare list of vulnerable items where application of the trade remedies may be expected, based on natural production cycles of key industries in Pakistan.
-- Form a Trade Remedies Action Committee, at the level of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and the FPCCI, addressing issues of a practical nature, eg list of lawyers by area of specialisation, legislation and practices of Pakistan's key trading partners and other imports sources being complaint of dumping by domestic industry, eg domestic anti-dumping legislation and practices of the European Union (EU), Japan, the US, 10 major trading partners and China and others.
-- It is proposed that the practices and cost of the business and price structure of competing imports in the countries of the exports need to be studied by diplomatic missions for removing the internal weaknesses, to provide support for domestic manufacturing, to keep the domestic share on fair trade business conditions.
-- Consider making the NTC an autonomous body headed by the Chairman from judiciary that employs private sector professionals, particularly in view of the need to evaluate the industry's performance as well as the need for legal and other services accompanying anti-dumping procedures.
-- It is proposed that a facilitation centre will be established in the FPCCI or the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), employing professionals to advise the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) manufacturing sector to establish their case seeking anti-dumping duty imposition through the NTC.
The facilitation is proposed to be funded from the Export Development Fund (EDF) or the Export Market Development Fund (EDMF) or from other funds under arrangement by the MoC so that practical steps can be taken to help the SME sector.
Alternatively, an advisory body needs to be established to help identify industrial injury and determine when to invoke and apply relevant laws relating to safeguards and anti-dumping and countervailing actions.
-- Consolidate information, raise awareness and provide professional advice of a practical nature to all stakeholders (private sector, government and civil society) addressing key issues relating to Pakistan's obligations under GATT/WTO legal provisions. This should focus on strategic questions such a cross-retaliation that could target Pakistan's textile sector, eg owing to violations of disciplines in different for an altogether.
-- Explore a more active stance for Pakistan as a plaintiff rather than respondent in the application of anti-dumping duties.
-- Broaden participation in formulation and implementation of the WTO initiatives protected by the trade policy, beginning with wider stakeholder representation with Pakistan's delegations to the WTO's conferences, ministerial, mini and of other levels in Geneva and elsewhere for interaction of private sector with their counterparts for better gathering of the information. This will help in taking positions on the basis of like economies and on the basis of similar pattern of development and on the basis of similar level of development.
-- Rationalise the use of the trade remedies, bearing in mind that safeguards and countervailing duties may be the instruments of choice for influencing issues relating to national interest, while anti-dumping duties may be more appropriate for targeted action within given industries.
-- Prepare Pakistan's negotiation positions well in advance of the WTO's ministerial and other level conferences through an immediate and wide consultation process.
-- Define Pakistan's position through the commissioning of timely studies focused on the export performance and evaluation of economic and employment related impacts in the trade and industrial sectors, particularly as regards opportunities and risks from: (a)China's accession to the WTO (b)enlargement of the EU (c) increasing co-operation with North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta)(d) proliferation of regional trade agreement (e) FTAs, PTAs, BLTAs and other economic co-operation agreements.