EU duty on RI's MSG

EU duty on RI's MSG

JAKARTA (JP): The European Union (EU) will charge an anti-
dumping duty of 0.143 European currency unit (ECU) on each
kilogram of Indonesian Mi Won brand monosodium glutamate (MSG)
following a price review by the European Commission.

The Ministry of Trade's Director for Foreign Trade Relations
Hatanto Reksodiputro was quoted Saturday by Antara as saying that
the price investigation was conducted upon a demand from European
MSG producers.

According to Hatanto, there is a possibility that the duty
might also be imposed on MSG produced by Indonesian companies
which had not yet been established when the charges on dumping
practices were launched for the first time in 1993.

He said the companies could even be subject to higher duties
if -- based on a "best information available" assessment
procedure -- they were found to sell their products at a lower
price on the foreign market than on the domestic market.

The assessment is based on random price reports from European
MSG producers.

EU producers have been requesting a price review since 1993.
Price reviews may be conducted a year after producers have been
punished for dumping practices, or five years after dumping
penalties have been imposed.

Hatanto said that demands for a price review may have ensued
after European MSG producers were unable to compete with
Indonesian products even though they had cut prices.(pwn)