(Xinhua) - After an 18-month-long investigation, Egypt announced it would drop a 40 percent anti-
dumping tax applied to Indonesian tire products and said dumping allegations were cleared, local press said Monday.
Before the allegations and consequent inquiry, Indonesia had controlled some 40 percent of Egypt's tire market but was accused of flooding the country with low cost products.
Egypt complained to Indonesia for the first time in August 2006 but according to World Trade Organization agreements, the allegation and tax was recently lifted, reported major newspaper The Jakarta Post.
Egyptian Ambassador to Indonesia Mohamed Taha said investigations conducted by the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry had found "a slight margin of dumping by the Indonesian exporters" but that the import tax had been lifted regardless.
"Some other factors interfered to lead to these results, and therefore, the Indonesian side cannot bear its full economic consequences," Taha said
During the investigation period, Indonesian tire exports to Egypt hit 70 million - 80 million U.S. dollars per year.
With dumping duties cut, the Indonesian Tire Producers Association said this year Indonesian tire exports to Egypt could easily reach 1 billion dollars mark.
The association's figures showed tire exports, mainly to Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern and Azerbaijan markets, reached 820 million dollars last year.