950806

Japanese expert says:

Remote chance of

anti-dumping

levy revision on

appeal to WTO

SHAHID MALIK

LAHORE: There is little likelihood of the anti-dumping duty on the Pakistani textiles being removed by the Japanese government in the near future, but a revision might be considered if Pakistan lodges an appeal under the WTO agreement challenging the 9.9 percent levy, which became effective from August 4.

This was stated by Prof. Yasuhiro Shoda, a Japanese expert on garment manufacturing, on the conclusion of a week-long visit to Pakistan during which he met manufacturers of fashion garments from Lahore and Faisalabad to offer technical advice on how to improve their quality in order to help them boost their exports, particularly for Japan.

The visit was part of the Asian Co-operation Project, launched by Jetro Tokyo, an official non-profit trade and investment promotion agency under the sponsorship of the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry, with an office in Karachi which has been operating for the last 40 years, liaising with the relevant government agencies and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) along with its affiliated bodies.

Prof. Yasuhiro Shoda refused to be drawn into a discussion on the anti-dumping duty imposed on Pakistani textiles by Japan which has become effective from August 4.

He said there was little possibility of the decision being revised immediately but Pakistan had the option to file an appeal under the WTO agreement. If that option was exercised, there could be a likelihood of the question being reconsidered, particularly in view of the fact that the Japanese towel manufacturers had protested to the government saying that eventually the impact of the new levy would be transferred to the consumers.

FASHION TRENDS

Talking to Business Recorder Prof. Shoda said that Pakistan could possibly increase its share of garment manufacture in the Japanese markets by adopting more fashionable designs and improving the quality of its finished products so as to be able to rub shoulders with its competitors in the Far East, who account for at least half of the garments production for Japan, at the moment.

Prof. Shoda identified the new trends in Japan's garment industry which, he said, was quickly moving out to the neighbouring countries of South Asia and the Far East, with China, being top of the league, fulfilling almost 70 percent of Japan's manufacturing needs, while Pakistan was lagging behind with an almost .01 percent share. Others doing well in the Japanese market, he said, were Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Italy in that order, all located in the same region with the exception of Italy, which was competing on the basis of its fashionable designs and a favourable exchange rate from the Japanese standpoint, he said.

While the Chinese law did not allow any possibility other than simple collaboration, Prof. Shoda said, in certain other cases Japanese companies were able to set up units with 100 percent equity.

A third option was to provide supervision and technical know-how to some of the local manufacturers, who were operating under their own name. It was, however, a legal requirement in Japan that the product would always bear the name of the country of manufacture, even though it was produced by a unit in a foreign country owned by a Japanese company, he clarified.

Discussing the role of the South Asian countries in Japan's garment manufacturing, Prof. Shoda said that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh almost matched Pakistan's tally whereas India had increased its share to one percent. Pakistan, he said, had "an abundant potential" for bolstering up its production, but it was imperative that the local factories, which had the required technical facilities for manufacturing, come out of the production of basic garments such as polyneck knitwear and T-shirts and introduce lines that command a greater demand being more fashionable in the market. There was also a need for improving the vacuum ironing process to give the products a better finish, he added.