RI protests cotton dumping allegation to EU

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has formally protested to the European Union over its repeated allegation of dumping unbleached cotton in Europe.

Chief of Indonesia's Antidumping Committee (Kadi), Aidil Juzar, said yesterday the committee had sent a letter objecting the European Union's decision to reopen the case a week ago.

"We consider this trade harassment," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Aidil said the Indonesian ambassador for the EU in Brussels had also sent a similar letter of protest.

Aidil said the EU commission on the antidumping case was divided between members who considered the dumping case over, and those who thought it was not.

The dumping charge was raised on Feb. 21 last year, when a EU commission investigated the export of unbleached cotton from Indonesia, the People's Republic of China, Egypt, India, Pakistan and Turkey.

The EU alleged the six countries practiced dumping, causing losses to the unbleached cotton industry in the EU countries.

Antara reported the value of the alleged dumping reached about 480 million ecus last year.

The European Union imposed additional antidumping taxes on Indonesian unbleached cotton cloth ranging from 3.5 percent to 14.5 percent, but the duties were removed in May due to persistent lobbying by the Indonesian Antidumping committee.

Data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry shows Indonesia's export of unbleached cotton to the European Union grew by an average 10.56 percent to US$66.2 million in 1996 from US$59.8 million in 1995. (das)