MUMBAI, June 11: The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) expressed shock and serious concern at the reported move of the designated authority to recommend an anti-dumping duty on newsprint imports. It urged the government not to yield to the pressures of the domestic newsprint industry and take any unilateral decision at their instance.

Vivek Goenka, president of the INS, in a statement issued today at Mumbai, said that the domestic newsprint sector has long been cocooned thanks to the restrictive newsprint allocation policies of the government in the past. It has been exploiting the newspaper industry by charging exorbitant prices and making huge profits whenever international prices of newsprint have risen.

When natural price correction took place, instead of timely adjustment of prices to realistic levels, the domestic industry started protesting and alleging dumping, thereby continuing to mislead the government. Now, after some weakness, international newsprint prices are again hardening, and there is no reason whatsoever for any anti-dumping duty. Instead of adapting to the changing competitive environment by improving cost-efficiency and quality, the newsprint industry is clamouring for protection through the levy of an anti-dumping duty, Goenka said.

The INS, he said, strongly contests the charges of dumping of exports made by inefficient domestic mills for three reasons:

** Newspapers are currently reeling under the pincer impact of rising input costs and steeply declining advertising revenue. There is no way they can absorb an additional anti-dumping duty when there is already a 10 per cent import duty and newspapers are additionally burdened by the government-mandated wage increase for their employees.

** The international newsprint prices move cyclically, and the Indian newsprint industry must learn to adapt to these cycles instead of periodically clamouring for protection.

** The INS is committed to supporting domestic mills which are genuinely in the newsprint business, particularly those in the public sector. But, it cannot be concerned with those which make paper that does not conform to newsprint specifications at all.

``The INS, therefore, warns the government not to take any unilateral action by way of imposing any kind of duty on newsprint. This is not a case for levying interim anti-dumping duty. This is not a case for recording preliminary findings. The government ought not to act on the basis of the flawed preliminary findings; in any case it should not do so without giving a proper opportunity to the newspaper industry to be heard in the matter. It seeks a detailed discussion with all concerned in the government. The INS also strongly opposes any move to impose import duty on glazed newsprint which is not produced in India at all,'' Goenka said.

As newsprint accounts for over 50 per cent of the total cost of newspaper publishing, any levy on this vital raw material will amount to throttling the freedom of Press, Goenka added. ``And it would be rather ironical that the government's move - which is tantamount to gagging the press - comes at a time when India is celebrating its 50th year of Independence,'' the statement noted. The statement emphasised that though INS has sought a hearing in the current anti-dumping investigations this has not been considered. If the government persists in levying this tax, the newspaper industry will have no other option but to resort to direct action. The blame for this will be firmly laid at the door of the government which is bending over backwards to unfetter the electronic media and is using an iron hand to clamp the print media.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.