The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has decided to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of automotive batteries originating in or exported from China and Malaysia. This measure applies to automotive starter batteries, specifically lead-acid electric accumulators with separators, in rectangular or square form, used for starting piston engines.
The ministerial committee composed of the industry ministers of the GCC states has approved the recommendation issued by the GCC Standing Committee for Combating Harmful Practices in International Trade. The decision follows an investigation conducted by the Technical Secretariat, which serves as the investigating authority representing the GCC states.
The investigation, initiated on 14 August, 2024, revealed that the dumping margins of the subject merchandise from the targeted countries exceed 2%. This has caused significant injury to the domestic industry, including price undercutting, price depression, decline in sales volume, market share, production volume, capacity utilization, productivity, profit, return on investment, cash flow, and ability to grow.
GCC applies the anti-dumping measures to eight different customs codes at rates between 11.3% and 42%. Customs authorities add these rates to the applicable duty rate for the concerned items when importers bring them into the GCC. Officials collect the definitive anti-dumping duty as a percentage of the customs value of the items on a CIF basis (Cost, Insurance and Freight).
Impact and Implementation
The decision to impose these duties is based on the findings of the investigation, which highlighted the negative impact of dumping on the domestic industry. The details of the decision imposing the duties are available in Issue No. 53 of the Official Bulletin of the Technical Secretariat Office for Combating Harmful Practices in International Trade, accessible on the GCC General Secretariat website.
Consequently, the GCC’s move aims to protect the domestic industry from unfair trade practices, as the Technical Secretariat conducted the investigation in response to complaints from domestic manufacturers who alleged that the increasing quantity of imports from China and Malaysia was causing significant injury to their businesses.
GCC expects the imposition of these duties to provide relief to the domestic industry by reducing the impact of dumping. This action also sends a strong message to exporters that GCC commits to maintaining fair trade practices and protecting its domestic industries from harmful practices in international trade.
