Glass sector demands 5% profit benchmark

ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Glass Manufacturers Association (APGMA) has asked the National Tariff Commission (NTC) to revisit the method it used in an ongoing anti-dumping investigation into soda ash imports from Turkiye and Kenya, saying the commission applied a profit assumption that departs from its past practice.

In a representation submitted to the NTC, APGMA Secretary General Dawoodur Rasheed said the commission’s preliminary determination in anti-dumping case No 69/2025/NTC/SA used an estimated profit margin of 10% of the cost to make and sell while calculating the non-injurious price. According to the association, no supporting rationale, methodology or factual basis was provided for that assumption.

APGMA said the NTC has historically used a 5% profit margin in earlier anti-dumping investigations when constructing the non-injurious price. The association argued that moving to a 10% rate marks a notable shift from established practice and could materially influence the injury margin worked out in the current case.

Industry cites past anti-dumping cases

The association submitted what it described as a comparative record of previous anti-dumping investigations, including cases involving polyester staple fibre, hydrogen peroxide, cold-rolled steel coils, PVC flooring, chlorinated paraffin wax and cefadroxil. APGMA said those cases reflected the commission’s use of a 5% profit benchmark.

It further maintained that the soda ash investigation is the first disclosed case in which a 10% profit assumption has been applied. Rasheed said a 5% rate, in line with the commission’s earlier practice, would be adequate to address any alleged injury to the domestic industry while preserving fairness and transparency in the calculation of injury margins.

He also maintained that the domestic industry had not suffered material injury that would justify using a higher profit assumption in the preliminary determination.

OASIS backs claim of established benchmark

Atif Iqbal, Executive Director of the Organisation for Advancement and Safeguard Industrial Sector (OASIS), also confirmed that the NTC had regularly used a normal profit margin of 5% for calculating the non-injurious price in the ceramic tiles anti-dumping case as well as in many other sectors.

On that basis, APGMA has urged the commission to review and amend its preliminary determination so that it remains consistent with earlier precedents and sustains confidence in Pakistan’s trade remedy framework.