ISLAMABAD, Oct 4: Pakistan’s eight textile companies may challenge the findings and methodology of the European Union technical team’s assessment of provisional dumping margin within two week before European Commission investigators, a senior official told Dawn.

These companies would now have to present their case with their legal counsellors before October 13 at Brussels, which is the last date for availing this facility for reviewing the individual or collective dumping margin worked out by the EU technical team.

The EU disclosed the findings of provisional dumping margin on Pakistani companies on September 27, the official said and added that in case the complainants (Pakistani exporters) were not happy with the findings then the report would be placed before the EU anti-dumping committee for finalization.

The exporters would also have the facility to even challenge the decision of the anti-dumping committee in the court of Luxembourg, added the official. “They even have the option to directly go and challenge the decision in the dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organization.”

According to the provisional assessment of dumping margin, which would be stated as dumping duty on the export of that company to EU member countries, the dumping duty on export of Chenab would be 17.1 per cent, which is the highest, followed by 14 per cent on export of Gulahmad.

The duty on other companies will be: Lucky Textile 9.1 per cent; Nishat Mills 8.2 per cent; Fair Deal 5.3 per cent; Al-Abid 5.2 per cent; Mohammad Farooq 4.9 per cent; and Younus Taba 4.4 per cent. The national average of anti-dumping duty will be 9.9 per cent. The average duty means that any exporter other than the listed eight companies (exporters) will have to pay a 9.9 per cent duty as anti-dumping, besides MFN duty of 12 per cent on export of bedlinen to EU member countries.

However, the official said that this facility would be available to those exporters who cooperated with the EU technical team and filled the questionnaire, but those who did not cooperate or fill the questionnaire would be subjected to the highest margin of 17.1 per cent duty along with MFN duty of 12 per cent.

All the eight sample companies of bedlinen and other stakeholders would decide their future strategy in a meeting to be held here in the next couple of days.

The EU levied anti-dumping duty on Pakistan’s bedlinen in 1997, which was withdrawn in January 2002, as the investigation conducted into the matter did not determine the dumping element in Pakistan’s exports of bedlinen to the EU.

In December 2002, the EU again started investigation but the investigation team did not complete the process and left the country half way through without completing its job.