In an age of rising protectionism, global trade is facing new challenges from countries utilizing trade defense initiations as a means to guard and boost their local industries.
To address these issues and facilitate the exchange of best practices and knowledge, GPCA held a Trade Defense Strategies workshop on January 25th in Muscat, Oman.
The workshop was facilitated by Charles Julien, Counsel, Geneva, White & Case LLP, and Richard G. King, Counsel, Abu Dhabi, Brussels, White & Case LLP, who provided an overview of global trade agreements which contain provisions for trade remedies and dispute settlement.
Attendees were also able to learn how to calculate dumping and injury margins, as well as gain knowledge on ways to address injury in key markets by learning how to make best use of GPCA’s Early Warning System.
The event was attended by 30 industry professionals including trade, legal and marketing experts from the regional petrochemicals and chemicals industry including GPCA Board members, International Trade Committee members and delegates.
An increasing number of trade defense instruments, such as anti-dumping and anti-subsidy, are being initiated by a number of countries – in many cases unjustly – and not in compliance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
GCC countries are also working hard to diversify their economies, but with limited internal consumption they are largely export oriented.
GPCA is focusing its efforts to spread more awareness within the industry on the various trade defence instruments under the global framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
It is also aspiring to share knowledge about various strategies to mitigate risks of trade remedy initiations in export markets, alongside the GCC’s own trade remedy system that GPCA member companies can utilize to safeguard their internal markets.
From 1995 to 2016, the global chemical and petrochemical sector faced the highest number of anti-dumping initiations, a combined 1,747 or 33% of all anti-dumping initiations globally.
As an export-oriented industry, the GCC chemical and petrochemical industry is also affected by such measures. During the same period, the sector faced 46 anti-dumping initiations or 54% of all initiations against GCC countries.