Anti–dumping probe into soda ash import: Türkiye Trade Ministry conveys its regrets

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Trade, Türkiye officially expressed its regrets for the initiation of the anti–dumping investigation and unexpected imposition of provisional measures on the import of soda ash which would impede the operation of market forces in a competitive environment.

The government of Türkiye has conveyed its official reservations over the Preliminary Determination and Imposition of Provisional Anti-Dumping Duties on Imports of “Soda Ash” Originating in the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of Türkiye.

Türkiye, once again, pointed out that the imports are unlikely to exert any substantial negative impact on domestic production. On the contrary, they may yield several positive outcomes. Import diversification enhances consumer choice by providing access to a broader array of products.

Furthermore, increased competition can stimulate innovation and efficiency within domestic industries, leading to improvements in both product quality and production processes. Additionally, exposure to international markets encourages local producers to align with global standards and trends, thereby strengthening their competitiveness.

Therefore, any anti-dumping measure (provisional or definitive) is not in public interest and will also harm the domestic industry in medium and long term.

Ministry of Trade Directorate General for Imports Türkiye certainly believed that the said points will be taken into consideration and the Commission will act consistently with the pertinent provisions of the Anti – Dumping Agreement and relevant WTO – jurisprudence. Türkiye reserves all its rights stemming from the related WTO Agreements with regard to this proceeding, it warned.

The Commission, without any concrete evidence, comes to a conclusion that economic indicators of the domestic industry showed a declining trend due to the imports from Türkiye.

However, for most injury parameters, the Commission has failed to conduct a proper and objective examination of the correlation between the subject imports and the alleged injury. Especially taking into account that imports from subject countries were insignificant and when it rose the economic indicators of the domestic industry rose simultaneously. This parallel movement undermines any causal link between the subject imports and the claimed injury and calls into question the Commission’s conclusion. Hence, it is impossible to link the domestic industry’s alleged injury with the imports from Türkiye.

It is evident that almost all economic indicators of the domestic industry improved after the imports from subject countries surged from 0 to 3.21 in Year-1. When imports rose to 3.75 in Year-2 again many of the economic indicators of domestic industry remained stronger than in the base year. Although slight deteriorations were observed in certain economic parameters, these cannot reasonably be attributed to the alleged dumped imports. Instead, the evidence indicates that such changes resulted from the contraction of the total domestic market, which declined by 9% during the POI. Accordingly, to the extent that any injury exists, it was caused by the overall shrinkage in market demand rather than by the subject imports, the country added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026