Large syringe importers could leave Ukrainian market if antidumping duties retained, says expert

Kyiv, December 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Large syringe importers Vogt Medical Logistic Ltd., Alliance Pharm Ltd. and Medic-O-Planet Ltd. (all based in Kyiv) could leave the Ukrainian market if antidumping duties on syringe were resumed, according to the director of Vogt Medical Logistic, Yuriy Nedorezaniuk.

"God forbid! However, if the antidumping commission issues a positive decision, those companies, which had connected their businesses and investments with the Ukrainian market… would have to develop their businesses in other countries," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on December 24.

He said that the resumption of the duties would make syringe sale by importers unprofitable.

"These companies would not pay these huge duties, knowing in advance that the product would not be sold on the market," Nedorezaniuk said.

In turn, Director of LLC Medic-O-Planet, Serhiy Shelkovnikov, said that if some importers close their business, supply of syringes on the market would narrow.

A partner of the Pavlenko and Poberezhnyuk Law Group Oleksandra Pavlenko, the lawyer of the importers, said that the antidumping duty on imported syringes was imposed with violation of Ukrainian law. In particular, Ukraine, having the whole range of information on importers, had introduced the duty against countries, and not against concrete companies.

"In addition, sanctions in the form of antidumping duties were set not in line with Ukrainian law and international agreements, using a discriminative way: each country received a different duty for supply of the same products, which is illegal," she said.

The lawyer said that importers are ready to appeal to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine not to allow the monopolization of the Ukrainian market.

As reported, OJSC Gemoplast in Odesa region and CJSC Tyumen-Mediko-Smela in Cherkasy region said in early December that they were planning to file a claim at the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine against a ruling of Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeals that canceled five-year antidumping duties imposed in late 2009 by Ukraine on imports of syringes from some countries.

In late 2009 Ukraine introduced differentiated five-year anti-dumping duties for imports of syringes from China, Spain, Germany and Britain depending on the country of origin and the size of the syringes.

The anti-dumping duty for imports of two-milliliter syringes from China was 24.36%, that for five-milliliter syringes 54.15%, and that for ten-milliliter syringes 347.14%, while from Spain for five-milliliter syringes it was 10.54% and for ten-milliliter syringes 196.38%.

Imports of ten-milliliter syringes from Britain faced a 23% duty, and those from Germany a 37% duty.