GENEVA: The World Trade Organisation has ruled that measures by European Commission on export of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) from Pakistan was against WTO law and rulesThe intergovernmental organisation that regulates international trade categorically ruled that measures applied by European Commission on PET were inconsistent with the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement (SCM) of the WTO.
This is being seen as a big diplomatic success for Pakistan at the multilateral forum in Geneva by trade experts. The report of the WTO adjudicating panel was released in Geneva.
The European Union had in 2010 had imposed a crippling countervailing duty on import of PET from several countries including Pakistan.
As per conservative estimates, the trade protection measures imposed by EU seven years ago caused a loss of approximately 300 million Euros to Pakistan’s nascent chemical industry.