Government imposes anti-dumping duty on 5 Chinese goods for 5 years

Union Government has imposed anti-dumping duties on five Chinese products, including certain aluminium goods and some chemicals, for five years as a measure to guard local manufacturers from cheap imports from the neighbouring country.

The products on which the anti-dumping duties have been imposed include (i) certain flat-rolled products of aluminium, (ii) sodium hydrosulphite (used in dye making), (iii) silicone sealant (used in the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules, and thermal power applications), (iv) hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) component R-32 and (v) hydrofluorocarbon blends (both have used in refrigeration industry).

These duties were imposed following recommendations of the commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

The DGTR in separate probes has concluded that these products have been exported at a price below normal value in Indian markets, which has resulted in dumping. The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to the dumping, the DGTR has said.

"The anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification (on Silicone Sealant ) shall be levied for five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette and shall be payable in Indian currency," the CBIC has said.

The CBIC has also imposed the duty on a vehicle component – Axle for Trailers in Completely Knock Down (CKD) and Semi Knock Down condition (SKD) to protect domestic makers from cheap Chinese imports.

Similarly, it has also slapped the duty on imports of calcined gypsum powder from Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for five years. While DGTR recommends the duty to be levied, the finance ministry imposes it.

Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. Both India and China are members of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO).