Russia launches first anti-dumping probe into auto imports

Russia's Industry and Trade Ministry has launched the country's first anti-dumping probe into truck imports from a number of European countries and Turkey, the ministry said in a statement. The probe was launched at the request of auto maker Sollers, Russia's second largest producer of light commercial vehicles with a weight of 2.8-3.5 tons and diesel engines with a capacity of up to 3 liters, which claimed that trucks were imported from Italy, Germany, Poland and Turkey at prices considerably below rates on the domestic market. The imports of trucks at dumping prices have inflicted considerable financial damage on Sollers as its inventories have grown while its rate of return and market share have decreased, even though its trucks are similar to imported vehicles by technical characteristics, the auto maker claimed. The probe is the first anti-dumping investigation on the Russian auto market because previously the Russian government resorted to the practice of raising import duties to protect domestic auto producers, Kommersant business daily reported on Thursday, referring to sources. Now that Russia is expected to join the World Trade Organization soon, Sollers is choosing market protection procedures which do not contradict the rules of the global trade club. The segment of light commercial vehicles is to suffer the most from Russia's accession to the WTO as import duties will fall from the current 25 percent to 15 percent and decline to 10 percent during three years, the paper said.