Tariff Commission preparing to lodge complaints at WTO
Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) has identified eight local products that face dumping by competing countries, and initiated a move to get prepared for filing complaints at World Trade Organisation (WTO) in this regard.

The identified products are sugar, cotton yarn, unleached woven cotton fabric, polyester texturised yarn, tube and pipe, incandescent lamp, motorcycle and fluorescent tube.

The BTC is a statutory autonomous organisation of the government that works for the protection of genuine interests of local industries facing uneven competition from foreign firms.

The BTC advises the government on inducing greater competition in industrial production to encourage efficient use of resources in the economy.

The Commission also helps the country obtain greater market access through bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements, and take remedial measures against dumping and other unfair trade practices in respect of imports into Bangladesh.

However, Bangladeshi industries never filed any complaint at the WTO under the anti-dumping agreement although those experienced anti-dumping duty from India.

BTC sources said it received specific complaints from entrepreneurs for these eight identified products.

“We received over two dozens of complaints from entrepreneurs of those sectors. The entrepreneurs claimed that they face challenges from low cost imported products,” a BTC high official said.

The BTC in consultation with a reshuffled committee has decided to collect data on local annual production of and demand for these products thorough the National Board of Revenue (NBR) VAT collection statistics.

Sources said local entrepreneurs do not have specific data for which they failed to file any formal complaint at the WTO dispute settlement board.

Earlier the government reshuffled a committee to deal with anti-dumping measures.

The manufacturers expressed concerns over dumping of products from such competing countries as China, Thailand and India.

As per WTO rules, export of any product may be termed dumping if a company sells the product at a price lower than the price it normally charges in its home market.