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The Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC) has submitted a report to the Minister of Trade and Industry on the alleged dumping of aluminum coils and circles originating or imported from China.
The Commission, after investigations, has ruled that the aluminum coils and circles from China were being dumped into the Ghanaian domestic market, causing significant injury and a threat of material injury to Ghanaian industry.
GITC Vice President Professor Paul Kuruk, introducing the report to Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, praised the minister for his advocacy in establishing the Commission to address unfair trade practices.
On May 8, 2019, Aluworks Limited, the manufacturer of aluminum coils and circles in Ghana, requested the Commission to investigate the alleged dumping of aluminum coils and circles originating in or imported from China.
The Commission calculated a weighted average dumping margin of 35.77 per cent for the product in question.
He said a five-year sanction would be imposed on the Company.
Professor Kuruk said that the investigation was carried out within the framework of the GITC Law of 2016, Law 926 and the GTIC Anti-Dumping Regulations (LI 2830) read with the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. , 1994 (the Anti-Dumping Agreement).
He said that the investigation was initiated after the Commission considered that there was prima facie evidence to show that the product in question was imported at dumped prices and caused material injury and a threat of material injury to the domestic Ghanaian industry.
He said that the Commission decided that the following definitive anti-dumping duties should be imposed on aluminum coils and circles originating in or imported from China: HS codes 7606.91.10.00 – aluminum plates, sheets, strips with a thickness greater than 0.2 mm.
It said that significant damage to internal damage was found to have occurred in the form of declines experienced by Aluworks with respect to its sales volumes, market share, return on investment, productivity, cash flow in, growth and utilization of production capacity.
He said that the Commission considered Aluworks to be the only manufacturer of aluminum coils and circles in Ghana and therefore received the request as a complaint from the domestic industry.
It said that under section 54 of the 2016 GITC Act (ACT 926), “dumping” meant the introduction of a product into Ghanaian commerce at a value lower than its normal value in the ordinary course of trade, for the similar product destined for consumption in the exporting country.
It said that at the initiation of the investigation, known exporters of the subject product, importers and interested parties received questionnaires to complete.
Among them were Lion Aluminum Products Limited, Olive Aluminum Works, Asadek Roofing Limited and Domod Aluminum Limited.
The Vice President said that China’s trade representatives at the Chinese Embassy in Ghana were also notified of the Commission’s investigation.
Professor Kuruk said that the investigation period for dumping was from May 15, 2019 to March 13, 2020, noting that the injury analysis included the evaluation of data for the period from January 2014 to December 2018.
“In finding that there is a causal link between the dumped product and material injury, the Commission considered evidence that included increases in the volumes of the dumped product, either absolute or relative to domestic production or consumption; increasing the market share of the dumped products; and the magnitude of the margin of dumping, ”he said.
Mr. Kyeremanten acknowledged receipt of the report and congratulated the Commission leadership for their excellent and professional work on the report in addressing unfair business practices in the local market.
He said that as a country “we have embarked on a very comprehensive and aggressive industrial transformation program, which effectively meant that we are improving production capacity and local productivity.
He said that any effort to apply unfair business practices in the economy would undermine the work the country had done so far to foster and support local industries.
“I believe that the work the Commission is undertaking will protect local industries from unfair business practices,” he said.
The minister said that the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Zone would be the most powerful stimulus to attract investment not only to Ghana but to the entire continent.
In particular, for Ghana as the host country, he said that “we believe this offers an opportunity for Ghana to become the new gateway and manufacturing hub for the continent.”
He said in that regard that the work of the Commission would be used to assure investors that they would be attracted to locate their facilities in Ghana to take advantage of the continental market.
He said the Commission’s work would provide the ecosystem to guarantee them against unfair business practices that would be caused by people getting involved in the ill-fated exercise.
He expressed the hope that the Commission will continue its work and that the government has committed to supporting its activities.
Source: GNA
