The Sri Lankan Parliament is scheduled to take up the delayed Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties Bill for debate on Wednesday, authoritative sources said.
“The relevant provisions in the FTAs related to anti dumping laws, for example under the goods chapter and trade remedies, will be effective once this legislation is passed,” Secretary to the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade, Chandanie Wijayawardhana said.
The Bill contains provisions for the imposition of ‘Anti-dumping taxes’against the introduction of imported goods to the local market at a lower price than their actual value and ‘Countervailing Taxes’ against the entry into the local market of imported goods at unusually low prices due to the various concessions granted by foreign governments.
“Sri Lanka needs anti-dumping laws in place to ensure the best practices are followed when the FTAs are implemented,” Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Malik Samarawickrama told Parliament when the Bill was first presented in December.
The Bill will deal with unfair trade practices carried out by certain countries and protect local industries and manufacturers from the goods imported to Sri Lanka without control.
The Safeguard Measures Bill provides for the conduct of investigations and the application of safeguard measures on products imported into Sri Lanka.
The new legislation is in keeping with Sri Lanka’s obligation under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of which Sri Lanka is one of the original contracting parties from 1947.
The GATT 1994, which is based upon the text of GATT 1947 which was signed in April 1994, includes among others the Agreement on Safeguards and on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.