ISLAMABAD: As Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Turkiye, the country’s Ministry of Trade has expressed reservations over the methodology adopted by Pakistan’s National Tariff Commission (NTC) to determine the injury margin in its anti-dumping investigation into imports of soda ash from Türkiye and Kenya.
According to the Turkish authorities, the NTC’s departure from its previous practice provides undue protection to an industry producing intermediary goods consumed by downstream industries, placing manufacturers of high-value-added finished products at a disadvantage.
Turkish authorities have also urged their Pakistani counterparts to reconsider the methodology adopted in the investigation. Officials fear the issue may be taken up by the Turkish side during the prime minister’s visit.
In an official letter dated July 2, addressed to the NTC, Türkiye’s Directorate General for Imports argued that the commission had applied a 10pc profit margin while calculating the non-injurious price of the domestic industry in its preliminary determination, instead of the 5pc profit margin used in previous anti-dumping investigations.
Turkiye objects to NTC methodology, says 10pc profit rate inflates injury margin
The Turkish authorities maintained that the use of a 10pc profit margin was inconsistent with the NTC’s established practice and resulted in an inflated injury margin. They urged the commission to revise the calculation by applying a 5pc profit margin in line with its previous determinations.
Pakistan initiated the anti-dumping investigation into imports of soda ash from Türkiye and Kenya on July 18, 2025, and issued its preliminary determination, including provisional anti-dumping duties, on Jan 15. The Turkish side requested the NTC to consider its comments before reaching a final determination.
Separately, the Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye has urged the NTC to ensure a fair and objective evaluation of the anti-dumping investigation.
In a letter addressed to the NTC chairman, the embassy’s Office of the Commercial Counsellor said the Turkish government had already submitted its official views, assessments and responses to the allegations made by the Pakistani petitioners, along with replies submitted by Turkish exporting companies to the NTC questionnaire.
Meanwhile, International Silicate (Pvt) Ltd has formally requested the NTC chairman to order an independent investigation into what it described as a serious conflict of interest and administrative bias in the ongoing anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of soda ash from Türkiye and Kenya.
In a separate letter dated July 2, the company alleged that the preliminary determination contained biased calculations and warned that the imposition of anti-dumping duties could significantly increase raw material costs for downstream industries, potentially leading to factory closures, job losses and wider economic consequences.
Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2026
