1. 1 Trade remedies as barriers: Implication for SAARC countries Abhijit Das Senior Trade Officer UNCTAD India Programme Organised by Teri, 3 May, 2006 UNCTAD

2. 2 Who are the users of trade remedies in SAARC ? India is the user of trade remedies in SAARC It imposed anti-dumping duty on 3 products from SAARC countries ProductCountryDate of initiationImposition of final duty Acrylic yarnNepal3 January 20012 July 2002 Lead acid batteries Bangladesh12 January 20017 December 2001 Zinc OxideNepal19 March 200118 March 2002

3. 3 Impact of anti-dumping duty acrylic yarn imports from Nepal Total Acrylic yarn imports from Nepal Year 2000-20012001-20022002-20032003-20042004-2005 Import from Nepal in US$ Million 24.6229.2618.4624.1728.43 Total Import of commodity 145.24191.24226.94220.92287.51 %Share of Nepal 16.9515.38.1310.949.88

4. 4 Impact of anti-dumping duty Lead acid batteries imports from Bangladesh Year2000-20012001-20022002-20032003-20042004-2005 Import from B’desh in US$ Million 0.250.520.120.150.16 Total Import of commo dity 34.2235.3639.4644.6368.43 %Share of B’desh 0.731.480.300.350.2

5. 5 Impact of anti-dumping duty on Zinc Oxide imports from Nepal Year2000-20012001-20022002-20032003-20042004-2005 Import from Nepal in US$ Million 2.342.360.800.24 Total Import of commodity 6.233.952.131.541.74 %Share of Nepal 37.5059.6437.7215.29

6. 6 Anti-Dumping measures as trade barriers Trade chilling effect of initiation of anti- dumping investigation Significant reduction in absolute value of imports and import share Message is clear- initiation of anti-dumping investigation and imposition of duties can be significant barriers to trade

7. 7 Anti-Dumping: LDCs provision in SAFTA Give special regard to the situation of the Least Developed Contracting States when considering the application of anti- dumping and/or countervailing measures Provide an opportunity to Least Developed Contracting States for consultations Shall, to the extent practical, favourably consider accepting price undertakings

8. 8 SAFTA LDCs provision: Is it beneficial LDCs provision is an improvement on Art. 15 of the ADA Possibility of country-to-country consultations Although non-mandatory in nature, favourable consideration of price undertakings would be a positive step Whether SAARC LDCs are able to benefit from these provisions will depend on their level of preparation

9. 9 Consultations: What preparations required Basic data on imports of the product under investigation – IBIS may be a useful source Did the petition contain adequate information justifying initiation of the investigation – on dumping, injury and causality Has the analysis of the 15 injury factors been done in accordance with the requirements of ADA? Documentation of why the investigation is flawed

10. 10 Are non-LDCs without any remedy? As an interested party, govt. of the exporting country has a full opportunity for the defence of its interests throughout an anti-dumping investigation. Preparation similar to that suggested for LDCs applicable. Investigating authorities are mandatorily required to take due account of any difficulties experienced by interested parties in supplying information requested- need to effectively use this provision

11. 11 SAFTA Safeguard provisions SAFTA safeguards can be imposed only on products subject to a concession under SAFTA SAFTA does not preclude SAARC countries from resorting to global safeguards under WTO. Requirement of investigation for imposition of SAFTA safeguards – investigation procedure to be consistent with requirements under Art XIX and Agreement on Safeguards

12. 12 SAFTA Safeguards : How are these different from global safeguards SAFTA safeguards limited to products covered by concessions under SAFTA Maximum duration of application of SAFTA safeguards is 3 years as against 8/10 years under Agreement on Safeguards SAFTA has 5%/ 15% LDC exception as against 3%/ 9% developing country exception for global safeguards

13. 13 SAFTA Safeguards: Ambiguities Can global safeguards and SAFTA safeguards be applied simultaneously on the same product What should be the period for determining the 5%/ 15% import share for LDC exception Can SAFTA safeguard measures be in a form other than temporary suspension of tariff concessions

14. 14 Conclusions Although anti-dumping duties have acted as trade barriers in SAARC, effective utilisation of ADA/ SAFTA provisions could help redress some of the underlying problems. While SAFTA safeguard provisions may be LDC friendly, need for addressing ambiguities.

15. 15 THANK YOU