The government is proposing to reform anti-dumping regulations to stem a tide of an influx of cheap products in the country.
The Botswana Trade Commission Anti-Dumping Investigation Regulations of 2024 draft was signed recently by the Minister of Investment Trade and Industry Mmusi Kgafela in response to reports of dumping incidents that occurred between 2017 and 2019, that undermine and threaten the poultry industry in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) region of which Botswana is a member.
Reports indicate that during this period, South African poultry stakeholders sounded the alarm on the widespread dumping practices, which undermined their domestic markets and impacted those within the customs union.
The proposed regulations call for the SACU producers to apply to the Botswana Trade Commission in writing for an investigation.
The proposed regulations indicate that an application shall be regarded as brought by or on behalf of the SACU industry where at least a quarter of the SACU producers by domestic production volume supports the application. Of those producers that express an opinion on the application at least 50 percent by domestic production volume, support such application.
According to the proposed regulations, an application shall include evidence of dumping, injury and causal link between umping and the material on injury.
“The application should also include a complete description of the allegedly dumped product, including the technical characteristics, uses of the product and the product’s current tariff classification number,” the proposed regulations state. It should also include the country in which the alleged dumped product is manufactured or produced and where the product is imported from a country other than the country of manufacture or production, the intermediate country from which the product is imported.
The application should also contain the evidence with regard to the existence, amount and nature of the dumping and the evidence that the alleged injury to a domestic industry is caused by dumped imports.
The regulation further states that the Botswana Trade Commission shall initiate an investigation where the Commission has sufficient evidence of dumping, injury or a causal link to justify the initiation of such investigation. The Commission may, in determining whether a product has characteristics closely resembling those of a product under investigation consider the raw materials and other inputs used in producing the product, the production process and the end-use of the product.
The regulations state that; “Where the product is not shipped directly from the country of origin and the production is exported to the SACU from an intermediate country, the price at which the product is sold from the country of origin or export for shipment to the SACU may be compared with the comparable price in the country of export or of origin.”
The Botswana Trade Commission shall when determining material injury to the SACU injury, verify the existence of a significant increase in the dumped imports, either in absolute terms or relative to production or consumption within SACU.
The report says the Commission shall then verify the extent of the threat and make a recommendation to the SACU Tariff Board which will make a determination.
Sources indicated that the proposed regulations would strike a balance, ensuring private sector support within the customs union is optimised to maximise the benefits of the SACU.
