Pakistan halts dumping investigation into RI paper

Linda Yulisman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/07/2011 9:15 AM

Indonesian paper producers can now deliver their products to Pakistan without worrying about dumping allegations after the Pakistani National Tariff Commission (NTC) halted its investigation into Indonesian-made paper products.

Indonesian Trade Ministry trade security director Ernawati said that the Pakistan commission officially halted the dumping investigation into paper categorized as “certain paper”, which covers among others, coated and uncoated paper and paperboard, from Indonesia as well as from China, Japan and Thailand on Sept. 29 following the withdrawal of the request by Pakistan paper producer Packages Limited.

“The firm withdrew its request for investigation after the Lahore High Court decided that the commission’s ruling was not legitimate,” she said in a written statement on Friday.

Under the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s rules, a country can impose anti-dumping duties on imported products once investigations by the importing country’s authorities prove the validity of dumping allegations lodged by local producers.

The NTC began an investigation into the case on Dec. 4 last year in response to a complaint filed by the local firm.

Later, the Indonesian Trade Ministry, as well as Sinar Mas, which was charged with dumping allegations, submitted denials in written statements to the Pakistani authorities.

A Pakistani importer of Sinar Mas’ products filed a suit against the NTC at the Lahore High Court in March this year saying that the investigation made on behalf of the commission was not legitimate because it did not fulfill the quorum, which should have comprised one chief and two members.

“The initial investigation, preliminary determination, as well as the final determination, were made on behalf of the commission, which consisted only one chief and one member. The Lahore High Court finally ruled that the charge put by the commission was not legitimate,” Ernawati said.

According to data at the international trade center Trademap, Indonesian exports of paper and paperboard to Pakistan in 2009 were valued at US$18.6 million and rose by 5.9 percent to $19.7 million in 2010, while exports of uncoated paper and paperboard to Pakistan in 2009 were $29.4 million and increased by 2 percent to $30 million in 2010.

Indonesia is the largest exporter of “certain paper” products to Pakistan, followed by Thailand, China and Sweden.

Indonesia is currently the ninth largest pulp and paper producer in the world with a total production of 7.9 million tons per year. Indonesia can produce pulp at the lowest production cost of around $200 per ton, according to the Indonesian Pulp and Paper Association (APKI).

House halts meeting with Health Minister on contaminated milk products

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 02/17/2011 10:01 PM | National

The House of Representatives Commission IX on health decided on Thursday to stop a meeting with the Health Minister, the Bogor Agriculture Institute (IPB) and two other institutions as the IPB insisted on concealing the identities of bacteria-contaminated milk products.

“This meeting is delayed until Monday…,” Commission IX deputy chairman Ahmad Nizar Shihab said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

An IPB dean, I Wayan Teguh Wibawan, refused to identify the bacteria-contaminated milk products to legislators during the meeting, saying IPB had not yet received a copy of the verdict from the Supreme Court ordering the disclosure of the contaminated milk products found in a 2006 IPB research.

Wayan also said he needed to consult with the IPB rector about any decision to announce the research results.

The House will summon the IPB rector, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih and Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM) chairwoman Kustantinah on Monday over the issue.

Britain halts forest sell-off plan after protests

The Associated Press, London | Thu, 02/17/2011 11:18 PM | World

The British government has slashed funding for libraries, tripled university tuition fees and laid off thousands of workers. But for many people, chopping down trees was a cut too far.

In one of the biggest U-turns since Britain's coalition government took power, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman announced Thursday that a plan to sell off 600,000 acres (250,000 hectares) of England's forests was being scrapped after an outcry from nature-lovers and environmentalists.

"I am sorry. We got this one wrong," Spelman told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

It is an unexpected defeat for Prime Minister David Cameron's budget-cutting administration, which has ordered 80 billion pounds ($128 billion) cut from public spending in a bid to slash Britain's deficit. One proposal called for the privatization of government-owned woodland, which amounts to almost a fifth of English forests.

The land has been state-owned since World War I, but Cameron argued that it would be better managed by others, including conservation groups and charities.

The plan called for "heritage woodland" like the 1,000-year-old New Forest in southern England to be protected, but also proposed raising 250 million pounds ($400 million) by leasing tracts of forest to timber companies.

Despite government assurances that conservation and public access would be safeguarded, the proposal was fought by environmentalists, opposition politicians and celebrities including actress Judi Dench and singer Annie Lennox.

More than half a million people signed an online petition against the plan, which drew fire from across the political spectrum. Opposition Labour Party politicians condemned the move, but it also angered the rural base of Cameron's Conservatives.

Environmental groups said the plans could see forests razed for golf courses or holiday homes. They evoked images of Robin Hood - the archetypal symbol of forests as symbol of freedom and Englishman's birthright.

Religious leaders including Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams also criticized the proposal, while thousands of people rallied in local forests and inundated lawmakers with letters and e-mails.

Spelman said that "if there is one clear message from this experience, it is that people cherish their forests and woodlands and the benefits that they bring."

Long ago, much of England was covered in trees, but centuries of agriculture and urban development have left the country with less forest cover than many European nations. About 12 percent of Britain is forested, compared with 28 percent in France and about a third of Italy, Spain and Germany.

David Babbs, director of environmental group 38 Degrees, said the government's U-turn was "fantastic news for all of us who want to keep our forests safe in public hands for future generations."

Some people expressed surprise that trees had become such a hot-button issue. But Colette Barnes, 31, pushing her 6-month-old daughter amid the oaks and hornbeams of London's Highgate Wood, said the threat to forests seemed more tangible than many other government cutbacks.

"You can hear about jobs being lost because of government cuts, but you can't see them as well as you can see a forest being cut down," she said. "I want my daughter to know what it's like to go camping and hear the birds."