MALAYSIA HAS FRAMEWORK TO SAFEGUARD MANUFACTURERS

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has the legal and regulatory
framework to safeguard local manufacturers in the face unfair trade practices
that may arise as a result of the current global economic and financial crisis,
the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said Wednesday.

Its Secretary General Abdul Rahman Mamat assured manufacturers that MITI is
monitoring Malaysia's trade data and was in regular consultation with industry
to ensure that Malaysian manufacturers are not disadvantaged by the influx of
imports which may be artificially cheap.

In a statement, MITI said the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Act
1993 and Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Regulation 1994, which are in
compliance with Malaysia's obligations under the World Trade Organisation (WTO),
provide Malaysia with the mechanism to take action against foreign manufacturers
and exporters who are found to have dumped their products in the domestic
market, thereby causing injury to local manufacturers.

Local manufacturers can ask the government to institute anti-dumping action
when the price of an imported product is lower than the price sold in its
domestic market, the ministry said.

To date, Malaysia has initiated 14 anti-dumping cases against 72 foreign
companies in 13 countries, according to MITI.

Anti-dumping duties have been imposed by Malaysia on imports of newsprint
from Canada, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines and the United States;
maleic anhydride from Taiwan, Indonesia and South Korea; and polyethylene
terephthalate from Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand.

"In addition to instituting anti-dumping measures, which is price-based,
local manufacturers who are seriously injured by a sudden surge of imports, can
also petition the Government to institute safeguards measure under the
Safeguards Act 2006 and Safeguards Regulation 2007," said Abdul Rahman.

He said MITI was also on guard to ensure that Malaysian exporters were able
to compete fairly and not be subjected to protectionist measures by importing
countries.

This was done mainly through the country's bilateral, regional and
multilateral engagements with its trading partners, he added.

In addition, the government was strengthening the implementation and
enforcement of mandatory Malaysian standards for a range of manufactured
products, said MITI.

As of Nov 30, 2008, a total of 5,444 Malaysian Standards (MS) have been
developed, and of these, 3,160 are aligned with international standards while
173 standards have been made mandatory, it added.
-- BERNAMA