Gulf chemical industry to challenge India's anti-dumping duty
12 Oct 2009
Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the umbrella organisation of petrochemical and chemical producers in the region, will challenge what it described as protectionist measures in the garb of anti-dumping procedures launched by India, China and the European Union (EU) against exports from countries in the region.
The GPCA's statement comes in the wake of recent moves by China and India against import of petrochemical products from exporters based in Saudi Arabia and Oman.
China and India have initiated anti-dumping measures to protect their domestic industries while, more recently, the EU has launched anti-dumping investigations against producers in the United Arab Emirates and Iran.
GPCA secretary-general Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun said the association is concerned about the potential impact of these protectionist measures on the global petrochemical and chemical industry and the downstream consumers in China and India.
"GPCA will strengthen coordination with GCC governments to ensure that exports of petrochemicals and chemicals from the Gulf region are not restricted by anti-dumping regulations and other trade restrictions," he said.
"The GCC industry and our governments will not accept the application of anti-dumping regulations against exports of petrochemicals and chemicals from the Gulf. We have seen a surge in protectionist actions brought by countries to block imports. These cases are baseless and violate international rules," Al-Sadoun said.
GPCA said it will investigate and recommend specific actions to be taken against trading partners that restrict GCC petrochemical and chemical exports. "The anti-protectionist initiative will continue to be a key aspect of GPCA's mandate for sharing information, analysing trends and giving a common voice to the GCC industry," the release said.
GPCA said it has instituted an advocacy committee to suggest a system to alert members about anti-dumping cases and work closely with GCC governments and the GCC secretariat to defend the regional industry against such actions.
