RIYADH: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Saudi exporters of polypropene to India have succeeded in obtaining a freeze on an Indian ruling to impose fees to counter a flooding of its market. Muhammad Al-Kuthairi, the ministry's Undersecretary for Technical Affairs, said that strict arrangements and rulings govern the World Trade Organization agreement on combating market flooding which ban nations from abusing it to upset the flow of trade. “As soon as the investigation into combating market flooding began, the ministry urged Saudi companies exporting to India to cooperate with Indian investigation authorities and provide them with information,” Al-Kuthairi said. “Then the Indian government produced its initial report on June 15, 2009 imposing temporary fees on Saudi imports of between $440 and $820 a ton. After that the Indian authority investigating issued a final report recommending the imposition of final fees on Aug. 23, 2010.” Al-Kuthairi said that the ministry set to work with Saudi companies affected to clarify their position as soon as the issue emerged by dispatching a delegation to India in July 2009 to hold meetings and seeking an annulment of the temporary fees. Abdullah Zainal, Minister of Trade and Industry, then set about contacting the Indian trade and finance ministers to discuss the issue and clarify the Kingdom's stance, most recently on Oct. 12, 2010. That communication, Al-Kuthairi said, had a significant impact on the decision to freeze the fees, along with the numerous meetings arranged by the ministry with Saudi polypropene manufacturers to broach the technical issues related to the Indian report and the conclusions reached by the Indian investigation authority. He added that the Ministry of Trade and Industry coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to set up a meeting with India's ambassador to the Kingdom to reiterate their stance. The ministry has also, he said, been working to bolster its activity to look at issues concerning trading practices such as market flooding, compensatory and protective measures, compliance with WTO regulations, trade lawsuits against the Kingdom, and international trade protectionism.
