21 January 2004	Wednesday	28 Ziqa'ad 1424

BRUSSELS, Jan 20: European Union governments are still divided over European Commission's calls for slapping anti-dumping duties on Pakistani bed linen exports , diplomats told Dawn on Tuesday.

EU trade officials discussed the question last week but failed to come to a clear decision, with five of the 15 EU states opposing the punitive duty, five in favour and the rest abstaining.

The bloc's governments will now try to resolve the deadlock through a so-called "written procedure" under which countries will be given a deadline by which to say either yes or no to the proposed duties. Sources said the procedure would be launched shortly and a decision would be taken before too long.

Countries opposed to the fines are not convinced that Pakistani exports of bed linen have actually directly damaged the European industry and are also concerned that the move may trigger reciprocal Pakistani restrictions on import of European textile machinery. Although no official confirmation was available, the duty on Pakistani bed linen is expected to be from 14 per cent to 15pc.