The Ministry of Economy has announced that its intensive efforts have resulted in concluding the Indian authorities’ safeguard investigation into the U.A.E.’s aluminum ingot exports to India without the imposition of any safeguard duty or compensation fees.
Abdullah Sultan Al Shamsi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Industry in the Ministry of Economy, said that the Indian government initiated its investigation this year on April 7th, into imports of ‘not alloyed ingots of unwrought aluminum’. The investigation was launched due to Indian aluminum producers’ claims of sustaining great damages due to the increased imports of cheap aluminum ingots.
Upon the announcement of the investigation, the Ministry held meetings with Emirates Global Aluminum (Dubal and Emal), the only producer of aluminum ingots in the U.A.E., and reviewed information and data that would help defend the position of U.A.E. aluminum producers and provide legal and technical evidence to Indian authorities.
The anti-dumping department in the Ministry provided a number of technical and legal Memoranda and supporting evidence to prove the claims do not adhere to legal requirements required by the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Safeguards. The department’s document showed that Indian manufacturers’ complaints do not fulfill the legal requirements to call for safeguard measures.
The Ministry’s proactive efforts helped bring the investigation to a close without any safeguard duty imposed by the Indian government.
Al Shamsi added that during 2014 the Ministry was able to bring to end similar investigations. In April 2014, the Taiwanese authorities ended a safeguard duty investigation into high density polyethylene (HDPE) imports from the U.A.E.. During July 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Egypt ended an investigation into polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from the U.A.E..
He confirmed that the Ministry under the direct supervision and directives of Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, continues to step-up its efforts in dumping and safeguards cases that target exports from the U.A.E.
Al Shamsi stressed the Ministry’s keenness to promote the export of U.A.E. indigenous products in regional and global markets while addressing challenges such as the anti-dumping investigations in certain countries that target some of the nation’s exports and products. He pointed out that most of these investigations are unjustified and have no legal grounds, and only aim to obstruct access to the U.A.E.’s high-quality and competitive products.
The Assistant Under-Secretary also indicated that the Ministry is currently employing all its efforts and energy to face the increasing number of investigations, anti-dumping fees, support and prevention that target and include the country’s exports of many industrial products, all of which are considered to be incorrect and fabrications intended at limiting the growth and high prevalence of these high-quality products in the global markets.
He stressed that the permanent termination of numerous investigations without imposing any duties against the country’s exports constitutes an indication of the Emirati manufacturers’ compliance with the laws and regulatory measures of international markets.
He also noted that the positive results of the recent investigations on a number of Emirati products reflect the concerted efforts made by the Ministry to achieve the strategic objectives towards the development of the industrial sector, to reach competiveness – which is a guarantee for development of the national exports.
Al Shamsi stressed the Ministry’s continuous eagerness to participate actively in all investigations related to any-dumping, support and prevention, and its constant efforts on refuting the allegations of foreign factories that lodge complaints against the country’s exports, in addition to providing all proofs and evidence that backs the state’s position, and supporting the concerned factories with these investigations, by answering questionnaires, providing all necessary clarifications and data requested by the foreign investigating authorities, throughout the various stages of such types of investigations.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
