Econ. Min. drafts bill to protect domestic producers from subsidized imports

The Economy Ministry has presented a draft bill that will protect Polish producers against the influx of foreign products. Under the draft every company will be allowed to call for protection from the state if it proves that the foreign, often subsidized products cause financial losses. In that case the state may impose higher, so called "levelling" duty on the imported product. A less stringent reaction would be to compel an importer to promise he would sell his products over a certain price level. The deputy Economy Minister Anna Skowronska-Luczynska admits it will be very difficult to prove a product was made with the help of a foreign state. However, it will be possible to request information from the country in question concerning any possible help it might have given to the producer. The draft is a part of a larger protective legislation under which three bills have already been passed regulating dumping and excessive exports. The draft will be debated next week. (Gazeta Wyborcza May 6-7, page 31) J.K