India may impose anti-dumping duty of up to $92 a tonne on chemical import from 4 natio

The duty, if imposed, will protect domestic players from cheap imports of ‘saturated fatty alcohols’ from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

India is likely to impose anti-dumping duty of up to $ 92.23 per tonne, on import of a chemical used in pharmaceutical and agriculture sectors from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, following a DGAD probe.

The duty, if imposed, will protect domestic players from cheap imports of ‘saturated fatty alcohols’ from these four nations.

The chemical is mainly used in sectors like personal care, home care, pharmaceutical, agriculture related end applications. It is also used in processing of articles of leather, textile, fur, paper, petroleum products and rubber items.

The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) - the investigating arm of the commerce ministry - initiated a probe into the alleged dumping of the chemical on a complaint from the domestic industry.

The probe concluded that the product was exported to India from these nations “below its associated normal value, thus, resulting in dumping of the product,” DGAD said in a notification. It also said some of the imports were causing material injury to the domestic industry.

“The authority recommends imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty equal to the lesser of the margin of dumping and the margin of injury, so as to remove the injury to the domestic industry,” it said.

Anti-dumping duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.

Imposing such a duty is permissible under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. Both India and China are members of the Geneva-based trade body.

VVF (India) Ltd had filed the application for initiating the anti-dumping investigation, concerning imports of saturated fatty alcohols.

The DGAD has recommended the duty in the range of $92.23-7.10 per tonne.The ministry of finance takes the final call to impose these duties.

Certain companies from the four countries are entering the Indian market at dumped prices, and such imports are causing injury to the similar product being produced by the domestic industry.