The Competition Agency officially started enforcing the anti-dumping law on June 1, but as it turns out, those businesses, which have been waiting for the anti-dumping law are not yet ready to prove cases of dumping imports on the market.
In order for the agency to recognize a private sector application as eligible, several preconditions must be met: the business must prove in the application that the price of products produced in the exporting country is higher than the price intended for Georgia. They should also provide information on what harm or threat can be inflicted on the local industry and how these two processes are related to each other.
The Competition Agency expects application on dumping from heavy industry, construction and agriculture sector.
Earlier, the poultry industry asked the government to protect them from dumping imports. However, the association declares that dumping prices do not create problems now. As the head of the Association notes, dumping prices for local production are no longer such a problem that they go through the rather complicated process required to apply to a competition agency.
As for the heavy industry, Rustavi Steel, Heidelberg Cement, had a problem with dumping imports. These companies are now members of the Georgian Manufacturers Association and have been actively involved in drafting the anti-dumping law.
The head of the association explains that the issue of dumping imports in the country today is not as relevant as before, but as Mariana Morgoshia says, businesses will monitor the market and in case of identifying dumping imports will definitely apply to the Competition Agency.
"Dumping imports were recorded from Iran, but at this stage, it is not relevant for the industries we represent today. In addition, dumping imports were made from Azerbaijan and Turkey. We will actively monitor the market. If dumping imports are identified, we will definitely use the tools offered by the Georgian government and parliament to the private sector to eliminate this problem," Morgoshia said.
The Competition Agency has 12 months to investigate the case, although this period can be extended for another 6 months.
