ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has signed into law the Anti-Dumping Duties Amendment Bill 2025, giving formal approval to an important piece of legislation that seeks to strengthen Pakistan’s trade regulation framework.
In this regard, the new law will come into effect retrospectively from July 1, 2020. The retrospective enforcement aims to provide long-awaited legal clarity on the application of anti-dumping duties, particularly on projects funded through Chinese grants.
So far, the bill was earlier passed by both the National Assembly and the Senate, after which it was forwarded to the Presidency for final assent.
These projects, particularly those linked to Gwadar’s development and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), had faced uncertainty regarding the applicability of anti-dumping duties.
Furthermore, the decision to draft and introduce the amendment was first taken during a high-level meeting in October 2022, which reviewed progress on Gwadar-related projects.
The government subsequently initiated the legislative process to ensure smoother implementation of such projects without undermining Pakistan’s trade protection mechanisms.
Moreover, the parliamentary leaders welcomed the President’s approval, describing it as a significant step towards aligning Pakistan’s trade policies with international obligations while also securing national economic interests.
The Ministry of Commerce is expected to issue detailed guidelines in the coming days to ensure proper implementation of the amended law.
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The Anti-Dumping Duties Amendment Bill 2025, observers note, indicates Pakistan’s broader strategy to balance its domestic industrial protection with the need to maintain strong economic partnerships particularly with China under the CPEC framework.
