I

ndonesia will ask Pakistan to stop its prolonged antidumping and countervailing duty investigation into paper products it imported from Southeast Asia'€™s largest economy.

The request will be conveyed during a consultative meeting with mediation by the World Trade Organization (WTO) scheduled for next month.

The Trade Ministry'€™s director general for foreign trade Bachrul Chairi said on Monday that Indonesia needed to demand that Pakistan stop its investigation because the country had carried out the probe longer than the time limit of 18 months.

'€œThe investigations have breached the limit in the WTO rules. The termination will allow our paper products to enter the Pakistani market without barriers again,'€ he told reporters at his office.

The consultation request, submitted by Indonesia late last month, highlights the non-litigation settlement of a trade dispute made possible under WTO procedures.

It enables the conflicting parties to seek out a satisfactory solution without litigation.

The plaintiff may call for the formation of a panel if the consultation cannot resolve the dispute after 60 days.

Pakistan began its antidumping duty probe into the import of writing and printing paper from Indonesia on Nov. 10, 2011. On Nov. 23, 2011 it started another investigation to see whether the Indonesian paper industry had received unfair subsidies from the government.

Both investigations targeted Indonesian key paper makers Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), who were then suspended by the Pakistani courts. However, the decision of the Islamabad High Court to suspend the antidumping investigations is still under appeal.

The Pakistani authorities earlier claimed that they could not fulfill Indonesia'€™s request to drop the probes because the final decision of the appeal had not been issued.

The Trade Ministry'€™s defense director Oke Nurwan said that the consultation would likely take place at the end of next month in Geneva with Indonesia expecting a closed session without engaging third
parties.

Oke further said the government was hopeful that the consultation would end some uncertainties resulting from the case, which has thus far hindered domestic manufacturers and its Pakistani buyers from conducting transactions.

'€œDespite the absence of provisional duties, the uncertainties caused by the case have really disrupted communication among business players from both countries. They are unwilling to seal long-term contracts,'€ he explained.

In its effort to provide legal certainty for local business players, the government will proceed to the dispute settlement body if the consultation fails to generate a desirable outcome, according to Oke.

Earlier, APP said that halting the investigations would have a positive impact on its exports by way of the return of orders. The firm claimed during the period of the probes that its Pakistani counterparts were hesitant to place orders.