DUSHANBE, April 4, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Antidumping measures may be effective if they are accompanied by efforts to help development of domestic producers, known Tajik economist, Dr. Hojimuhammad Umarov, said in an interview with Asia-Plus, commenting on the law on measures to protect economic interests of Tajikistan that was adopted by the parliament on April 1.

“Under conditions of huge disproportion between imports and exports, such measures may be reasonable,” said Umarov.  “Thus, we have a number of enterprises in light and canning industries with high demand for their products in the domestic market.”  According to him, the civil war of the 1990s and shock therapy (the sudden release of price and currency controls, withdrawal of state subsidies, and immediate trade liberalization within a country) have seriously affected these enterprises.

The expert noted that adoption of this law should be accompanied by other efforts to support development of domestic producers.  “If it is not done, the law will worsen the situation even more.”

According to him, the population’s incomes connected with activity of labor migrants have fallen by 60 percent.