Colombia appealed the final report of the Special Group of the World Trade Organization (WTO) about the process that follows imposition of ‘anti-dumping’ duties on the importation of frozen French fries from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
(See: 60% of imported cheeses come from the United States).
Although the Minister of Commerce, Germán Umaña, said that the country is “respectful” of the final report, appealed to the document that states that Colombia “does not comply with some provisions of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement, by imposing duties on the importation of frozen potatoes originating in Belgium, the Netherlands (Holland) and Germany”.
Thus, the ‘anti-dumping’ measure, in force since 2017, will remain in force.
(See: Minenergía defends importing gas: “It does not mean losing autonomy”).
“By maintaining anti-dumping duties, we guarantee the Colombian productive sector the application of commercial defense measures that allow balanced competition and equal conditions with respect to imported products. Our objective is to ensure a framework of fair competition between products that arrive from abroad and national producers.”, said Minister Umaña.
(See: Cereals, oil and fertilizers, among the most imported inputs).
In 2017, Colombia initiated an investigation to determine whether there were dumping practices in these markets, which was determined a year later.
Since 2020, both Colombia and the European Union have agreed the assistance of a special investigative group at the WTO.
(See: Country trade deficit: July 2022, the lowest since 2017).
The ‘dumping’ refers to unfair competition: sell below normal price or at prices below cost.
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