Protecting local players

Parliament Speaker Thura Shwe Mann recently urged the Commerce Ministry to submit a trade law to Parliament next month, so that lawmakers have ample time to review it. 

"The ministry already said that the protective law would be enacted in 2015,” he said. “What I'd like to urge is that the ministry submit the draft bill to Parliament in June. The Parliament will have two months to discuss it.”

As Parliament resumed its session on Monday, MP Win Myint raised a question if the ministry has a plan to impose an antidumping duty and tariffs in order to support the country's businesses, in light of excessive growth in imports.

Responding to the question, deputy commerce minister Pwint San said: “The law is being drafted to protect domestic businesses from any damage caused by the sudden rise of imports.”

Pwint San said a committee and investigation team would be established after the law was enacted to impose antidumping duty and countervailing duty as well as protective tariff.

Since re-engaging with the world in 2011, Myanmar has seen a jump in imports, which entail a wide range of consumer goods as the local manufacturing sector has been in a poor state. 

According to the World Trade Organisation, to which Myanmar has been a member since 1995, Myanmar’s share in world trade is less than 1 per cent for both merchandise and commercial services.

According to Eurostat and the International Monetary Fund, Myanmar's trade deficits have been widening in the past years; from US$2.6 billion in 2010 to $7.7 billion in 2013. In 2013, the value of its exports was only $8 billion, against the value of $15.7 billion in imports. The trend continued in 2014.

Meanwhile, there are growing concerns among local authorities in the safety of imported products.

Khin Zaw, director of the Commerce Ministry, recently said that import bans are being planned for food items of which descriptions, instructions and ingredients are not written in Myanmar or English, as the ministry has difficulties blocking the products at the gate.

“Right now it is not possible to implement a law because those products enter Myanmar in many different ways. We have to wait until the time is right. When the time comes, we will issue a law that will make products not written in Myanmar illegal to import. We are now in the public awareness stage, concentrating on the dangers of having no logos or going past expiration dates. We cannot just take action immediately,” he said.

He added that food items are imported into the country in different routes. While an investigation is underway to identify illegal items, an awareness campaign is launched.

“In Mandalay, there are many items that come with Chinese writing. There is the same problem in Chinatown. In the future, they will all be banned. It should not take long, we’ve already begun,” he said.

The Consumer Protection Central Committee was formed in June 2014 in response to the Consumer Protection Law of March 2014. Many investigation teams were then formed at state and regional levels by October. The Commerce Ministry established the consumer affairs division in May 2013.  

Action would be taken against offenders under the new law and consumers could file lawsuits under civil law, Khin Zaw said.