Trade defense: Tunisian school notebooks back on the market
«The anti-dumping measure applied to Tunisian notebook imports will expire on January 03, 2024», announces the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This measure is applied via a customs tax, the highest rate of which is 27.71% for all Tunisian exporters, with the exception of the Sitpec company, which has been taxed at 15.69% by the Moroccan authorities.
The aim was to regulate the market against the unfair competition complained of by domestic producers Mapaf, Med Paper, and Promograph. The latter have won their case. In January 2019, the Government had set up a trade defense measure for a period of five years. That is, until the beginning of 2024. Hence the legal importance of this issue, which is back on the agenda. Domestic producers can request a review of the anti-dumping measure. The law on trade defense measures allows them to do so. The onus is on those requesting that the measure be maintained to prove the legitimacy of their claim. «Their request must be in writing and contain evidence that the lifting of the measure after expiry is likely to lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury», explains the Directorate General for Trade. This request must be made no later than 30 days from September 08, 2023, the date on which the administration published its public notice. The local producers actually submitted their request for renewal of the anti-dumping measure before the legal deadline expired on October 06, 2023. There are now five, rather than just three, companies who have referred the matter to the ministry responsible. In addition, there has been an almost total reconfiguration of the original plaintiffs. Of these, only Mapaf remained on the list. On the other hand, four new operators have joined the fray. They are Dicapa, Lexus, Imprimerie modern, and Sopaleb. In the meantime, Med Paper and Promograph have withdrawn from the battle due to their respective commercial strategies in the production of school notebooks. L’Economiste contacted Med Paper to find out more about their withdrawal from the list of plaintiffs.
«The anti-dumping renewal request is not necessary as far as our company is concerned. We’ve had time to invest to become more competitive than the Tunisians, even with the subsidies their government grants them. In fact, we’re the only company to manufacture Tunisian school notebooks from recycled paper», says Med Paper CEO Mohsine Sefrioui. Nevertheless, five producers are calling for the anti-dumping agreement to be extended for a further five years. From 2024 to 2029 in principle. The investigation by the Directorate General of Trade is continuing. In principle, Tunisian exporters will be asked to express their position…
Faiçal FAQUIHI
