The Cabinet has endorsed a draft law that seeks to protect national products and combat practices that may harm them in international trade.
The decision was taken during the Cabinet’s weekly meeting at the Emiri Diwan yesterday, which was chaired by HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani.
According to the provisions of the draft law, a committee on the “protection of national products and combating practices that harm them in international trade” is to be established at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
The draft law defines harmful practices in international trade as “dumping, dedicated subsidy and increase in imports”, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud said. It specifically describes dumping as “exporting a product to the country at a price below the normal value of its counterpart in the exporting country”.
Further, it stipulates that provisions of the law apply to the protection of national products and measures of combating practices that harm them in international trade in a manner that doesn’t conflict with provisions of World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements.
The committee to be set up at the MEC will comprise members with expertise in the field of WTO agreements as well as representatives of ministries and entities concerned, according to QNA.
The committee’s powers include “receiving reports on the violation of the provisions of the law, reviewing them and carrying out the necessary investigation, proposing appropriate measures and practices to be taken regarding the complaints referred to it and submitting its proposal in this regard to the minister concerned, as well as proposing preventive measures to protect national products in line with the provisions of the law”.
The minister shall, based on a recommendation from the committee, take appropriate measures that don’t conflict with the WTO agreements. 
“HE the Minister shall, in this case, take measures to combat dumping, temporary compensation measures and temporary preventive measures.