India and E.U. End Bed Linen Dispute
August 28, 2003
BANGALORE, India – In a major victory for India, the World Trade Organization has reversed its ruling on the Indian bed linen dispute with the European Union.
The appellate body's verdict found that the E.U. acted inconsistently in applying the provisions of the anti-dumping agreement when determining the volume of dumped imports, and also in determining the injury caused to domestic producers. The verdict also found that the E.U. in Brussels had erred in calculating imports of dumped bed linen.
In 1998, India exported $137.34 million worth of bed linen to the E.U., but by 2001, exports had dropped to $91.26 million. Furthermore, the Indian companies were assessed up to 27.7 percent in anti-dumping duties on E.U. imports. According to Siddhartha Rajagopal, executive director of The Cotton Export Promotion Council in Mumbai, "Fallacies have been fundamentally eliminated regarding the wrong basis of calculating anti-dumping duty and we now desire that the whole matter will be buried (so we can) revive business as usual."
The controversy over bed linen imports is not new to the industry. The European Commission has been targeting import of bed linen originating from India with anti-dumping duties for the past eight years. India defended itself against early initiation of such a proceeding in 1997, when the WTO appellate body struck down the EC's interpretation of the various provisions of the anti-dumping agreement. In spite of losing the case in the appellate body, the EC initiated a partial review of the matter in 2002, while simultaneously allowing a similar measure to lapse in case of Pakistan and Egypt.
The appellate body's verdict found that the E.U. acted inconsistently in applying the provisions of the anti-dumping agreement when determining the volume of dumped imports, and also in determining the injury caused to domestic producers. The verdict also found that the E.U. in Brussels had erred in calculating imports of dumped bed linen.
In 1998, India exported $137.34 million worth of bed linen to the E.U., but by 2001, exports had dropped to $91.26 million. Furthermore, the Indian companies were assessed up to 27.7 percent in anti-dumping duties on E.U. imports. According to Siddhartha Rajagopal, executive director of The Cotton Export Promotion Council in Mumbai, "Fallacies have been fundamentally eliminated regarding the wrong basis of calculating anti-dumping duty and we now desire that the whole matter will be buried (so we can) revive business as usual."
The controversy over bed linen imports is not new to the industry. The European Commission has been targeting import of bed linen originating from India with anti-dumping duties for the past eight years. India defended itself against early initiation of such a proceeding in 1997, when the WTO appellate body struck down the EC's interpretation of the various provisions of the anti-dumping agreement. In spite of losing the case in the appellate body, the EC initiated a partial review of the matter in 2002, while simultaneously allowing a similar measure to lapse in case of Pakistan and Egypt.
