India slaps anti-dumping duty on 5 Chinese products

In a bid to safeguard domestic players from cheap imports from the neighbouring country, the government has imposed anti-dumping duty on five Chinese goods, including vacuum flasks and aluminium foil, which were imported by India at below normal prices, in this month so far.

The levy was imposed on the recommendations of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), an investigation wing of the Commerce Ministry.

It is not the first time that India has slapped anti-dumping duty on Chinese products as the government had earlier also imposed such levy on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China.

According to separate notifications issued to this effect by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBITC), Department of Revenue, these duties were imposed as these products — Soft Ferrite Cores, certain thickness of vacuum insulated flask, aluminium foil, Trichloro Isocyanuric Acid, and Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin — were exported to India from China at below normal prices.

“The duty imposed shall be levied for a period of five years on imports of Soft Ferrite Cores, vacuum insulated flask, and Trichloro Isocyanuric Acid,” the notifications said, while clarifying that the anti-dumping duty of up to USD 873 per tonne was imposed provisionally on aluminium foil for six months.

The CBITC notified that the levy has been imposed in the range of $276 per tonne to $986 per tonne on imports of the acid (a water treatment chemical) from China and Japan.

While on imports of Soft Ferrite Cores (used in electric vehicles, chargers, and telecom devices), up to 35 per cent duty was imposed on CIF (cost, insurance freight) value, $1,732 per tonne anti-dumping duty was levied on vacuum insulated flask.

Ranging from $89 per tonne to $707 per tonne, on Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin, the duty was imposed on the imports from China, Korea RP, Malaysia, Norway, Taiwan and Thailand for five years.

To determine whether domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports, anti-dumping probes are conducted by countries from time to time and as a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO).

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

With both India and China members of the WTO, and China, as its second largest trading partner, India has time and again raised serious concerns over the widening trade deficit with the neighbouring country, which stood at $85 billion in 2023-24.