06 February 2005	Sunday	26 Zilhaj 1425

KARACHI, Feb 5: The European Commission (EC) will not send its investigation team for the review and physical verification of eight selected companies to determine whether exporters were dumping their products in the European Union market or not.

Industry sources said the EC was annoyed over Islamabad's pre-mature disclosure about the visit of the EC investigation team which was to be kept secret for security reasons.

A news item appearing in a local daily quoting a senior government official about the expected EC investigation team arrival in first or second week of this month was taken as a breach of trust by the European Commission, exporters requesting anonymity told Dawn on Saturday.

It is being widely stated by industry sources that Pakistan government gave undertaking not to disclose the arrival of the EC team for security reasons.

However, a leak to local media about the team's arrival was taken as a breach of trust and the EC as a mark of protest has decided not to send the team to Pakistan.

Pakistan was already confronting with a host of problems with regard to its anti-dumping duty on bedlinen and inclusion in the EU's new GSP scheme. During recent visit of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to Brussels, the EC's high-ups expressed their dissatisfaction over the working of Pakistan's economic minister at Brussels, Tariq Iqbal Puri. It was also disclosed in the local media that the economic minister wrote a letter to Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan hinting at the offer given by the EC of possible reduction in anti-dumping duty.

It is reported that the EC asked the Pakistani premier to change the economic minister as they were not ready to carry on negotiations with Mr Puri.

"This would mean that the definitive anti-dumping duty of 13.1 per cent would stay for complete five years along with 12 per cent normal customs duty because so far Pakistan has failed to get any concessions from the EU under its new GSP scheme," a leading bedlinen exporter lamented.

It is strange that the government officials at such high posts act so irresponsibly and cause damage to the interest of the country which needs all sort of markets to generate employment for the youth and ensure better and secure environment in the country, another exporter exhorted.

But it would be unfair if the 'touchy attitude' of the EU was allowed to go unchecked because time and again the European Commission comes up with some excuse or the other. During initial investigations the EC's investigation team left without completing the verification job just because some anonymous threatening call was received by a team member.

Soon thereafter the EC imposed the definitive duty of 13.1 per cent early last year on imports of bedlinen from Pakistan. But exactly after one month or two the EC unilaterally offered review not realizing that by making quick shifts it was also damaging its position.

In August last year the EC initiated partial interim review under which its team was expected to pay visit to Pakistan to have on-spot and physical verification of the sample companies or exporters selected for the review.

"I would say that the EC was only killing time and does not want to remove the definitive duty of 13.1 per cent imposed at a time when WTO free market era began from January 1, 2005," another exporter said. He said it is pertinent that the EU teams in other trade matters did not only visit Pakistan during this period but also completed their investigations.

He said Pakistan should take the issue to WTO appellate tribunal to get the relief and should not waste time in lobbying or appeasing the EC which has already set its mind for not allowing any concessions to Pakistan.

He further said that we would have been better off if quotas remained because it used to ensure us a certain market access but now how could we compete our rivals when we have to face a total impact of 25.1 per cent in duties against our competitors who just have to pay normal customs duty of 12 per cent. But in case of being a LDC they even do not have to pay the normal duty."