New Delhi, Jan 6: Developing countries, including India, are being greatly affected by the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy policies being adopted by the European Commission, which is becoming increasingly protectionist in nature.Stating this at a meeting of the Indo-Portugal joint business council organised by Ficci and Assocham, the additional secretary in the ministry of commerce Nripendra Misra, said that India was deeply concerned with the repetition of anti-dumping procedures which had affected the textile, footwear and handbags industries.Misra made a case for removal of such anti-dumping procedures which, besides the existent tariff and quantitative restrictions, hurt the developing countries.
Misra said that anti-dumping duties must be curbed and complainants must have sufficient evidence before imposing such duties. He said there was a need to bring flexibility in the anti-dumping procedures and competition through price differentiation should not be treated as dumping.
Giving a specific case,Misra said 8,000 tonne of textiles could not be exported to the European Union last year as the flexibility quota was denied to India. India has an MoU with EU on textiles and each year the quota keeps changing.
"Anti-dumping is a quasi-judicial process available within the country but in an organic relationship between countries, it is equally important to assess its impact and not just restrict it to technicalities", said Misra.Replying to issues raised by Misra, the Portuguese minister of state for industry and energy Fernando Pacheco said that the European Union was still the "most open economy".
Anti-dumping complaints should be made only if there is sufficient evidence and it should only be used in specific cases, he said. Portugal will never support any anti-dumping complaint which does not have sufficient evidence, Pacheco added.
However, countries doing trade together should have a regulatory framework in place to make the business environment predictable, said the minister. "Don't have thefeeling that Portugal and the European Union are becoming protectionist. We become protectionist against cases in which specific evidence is present and not against countries", he added.
Pacheco said that human capital and the financial sector are two crucial sectors which need to be taken care of and India had a comparative advantage in the area of technology which it could share with Portugal.
Chairman of the India-Portugal JBC MM Bhagat said that there existed great potential for India and Portugal to cooperate in energy, ports, shipping, roads, highways, telecommunications, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and agri-food sectors.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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