Committee to verify dumping claims

JAKARTA (JP): The new anti-dumping committee is to announce next month the results of its investigation into dumping claims by Indonesian polyester fiber producers against South Korean and Taiwanese imports.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade's Director for Textile Industries, Sakri Widhianto, said the claims have been submitted to the committee and are being examined for their validity.

Sakri was quoted yesterday by Bisnis Indonesia daily as saying that the team would release the results of its investigation in August, almost two months after the claims were submitted.

Early last month, the Indonesian Synthetic Fiber Producers Association asked the government to impose a 40 percent provisional anti-dumping duty on polyester fiber imported from South Korea and Taiwan.

According to the association, the imports are sold in Indonesia at US$1 a kilogram, lower than the price of domestic polyester fibers which is now $1.10 a kilogram. The domestic price has dropped from $1.40 per kilogram in January because of the cheap imports.

Prices in South Korea and Japan are still $1.40 a kilogram.

The association said the alleged dumping practices have forced local producers to sell at prices significantly below their production costs of $1.30 a kilogram.

In January, Indonesia imported 43.9 million kilograms of natural fibre worth $90 million, while synthetic polyester fiber imports reached 1.14 million kilograms, valued at $2.08 million.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo said last week that the establishment of the Indonesian anti-dumping committee complied with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

As the WTO guarantees fair trade, Tunky said, Indonesia will always comply with WTO provisions, including those governing unfair trade practices such as dumping.

He said the anti-dumping committee opened last month with the appointment of members from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.

The committee, assigned to counter unfair trade practices by foreign entities, is now handling dumping allegations on imported polyester fiber and steel products, Tunky said.

He said that business people and legal experts would also be on the committee. (pwn)