5-year anti-dumping duty on Chinese calcium carbonate recommended

In a bid to protect domestic manufacturers from unfair trade practices, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of Calcium Carbonate Filler Masterbatch from China for a period of five years.

Dumping occurs when a product is exported at a price lower than its “normal value” in the home market, distorting competition.

Under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, countries can impose anti-dumping duties if such imports cause “material injury” to local producers.

In its final findings published in the Gazette of India, the DGTR concluded that Chinese-origin Calcium Carbonate Filler Masterbatch — containing more than 50 per cent CaCO₃ — was being dumped in the Indian market at “significant margins”, hurting the domestic industry.

The authority held that the imported goods and Indian-made products were “like articles” under the Anti-Dumping Rules, 1995, and confirmed that domestic producers met the eligibility benchmarks to be treated as industry representatives.

“The domestic industry has suffered material injury as a result of dumped imports. The injury margin is significant,” the order said, while clarifying that the duties would not affect product availability for customers.

The recommended duty would be equal to the lesser of the dumping margin and the injury margin.

The move is part of India’s wider push to counter predatory pricing practices and safeguard local industries from global trade distortions.

Meanwhile, the DGTR has also initiated fresh anti-dumping probes into imports of several other products.

These include Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Film from Bangladesh, China, Thailand and the US, following applications by Chiripal Poly Films, Ester Industries and Vacmet India; Borosilicate Table and Kitchen Glassware from China, based on a petition from Borosil Ltd; and Nylon 6 imports from China, Russia, Taiwan and Thailand, on a complaint by Gujarat State Fertilisers and Chemicals.

The investigations will determine whether dumping exists in these cases and, if so, the extent of duties needed to neutralise injury to Indian manufacturers.