Pakistan has voiced concern over introduction of zeroing, and deletion of lesser duty provisions in the proposed textile of anti-dumping agreement (ADA) of the World Trade Organisation, saying this will benefit some companies from the rich States. This zeroing means calculation of the margin to which imports are being dumped that is exported at artificially low prices.

US trade authorities ignore ‘zero out’ instances where goods command higher prices in the US than at home. They only take into account cases where prices in the US are lower. Analysts say this inflates ‘dumping margins’, allowing injured US companies to secure inappropriately high levels of anti-dumping duties on competing imports.

An official in the Commerce Ministry said Pakistan is not alone but many developing countries, including India, are in clash with the US on proposed changes in the WTO trade remedy rules, principally on the issue of ‘zeroing’, a controversial practice that Washington uses to calculate anti-dumping duties. Several other countries heavily criticized the text’s provisions for explicitly opening the door to zeroing.