The International Trade Commission (ITC) said its preliminary investigation into imported coated paper from China, Japan, South Korea and Finland found "there is concern of causing harm" to the domestic industry.

The commission said in a statement on the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Web site that it would send its evaluation to the Ministry of Finance for further review in a bid to protect local manufacturers from unfair trade practices.

Despite its preliminary evaluation, the commission said it would not suggest the Ministry of Finance to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on those imports for the time being. It also said both ministries would need to conduct further reviews on whether Taiwan should levy anti-dumping duties in the interests of downstream industries and consumers.

The Taiwan Paper Industry Association in July last year requested the government open anti-dumping investigations on coated paper imported from these four countries, demanding the authorities levy anti-dumping duties of 93 percent on Chinese imports, 88 percent on Japanese imports, 14 percent on South Korean goods and 4 percent for those from Finland.

Representatives from the association said on March 9 at a public hearing that the domestic industry has been hurt by imports from these countries. However, local printing and publishing industries voiced their concerns at the hearing, alleging that local papermakers might use the anti-dumping action to drive up the price of coated paper.

Thu, Mar 29, 2012

By Kevin Chen

Source: taipeitimes.com