India levies anti-dumping duty on 5 Chinese goods. Here’s why

To safeguard domestic players from cheap imports, India has imposed anti-dumping duty on five Chinese goods, including vacuum flasks and aluminum foil, during the month so far.

These duties were levied as the five products — Soft Ferrite Cores, certain thickness of vacuum insulated flask, aluminum foil, Trichloro Isocyanuric Acid, and Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin -- were being imported from China at below normal prices.

The move comes after recommendations for imposing duties were made by the Union Commerce Ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR ).

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 Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said in separate notifications.

The anti-dumping duty of up to $873 per tonne was imposed provisionally on aluminum foil for six months.

On imports of the acid (a water treatment chemical) from China and Japan, the duty has been imposed in the range of $276 per tonne to $986 per tonne.

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.

Similarly, imports of vacuum insulated flask attracted anti-dumping duty of $1,732 per tonne.

The levy, which ranges from $89 per tonne to $707 per tonne on Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin was slapped on the imports from China, Korea RP, Malaysia, Norway, Taiwan and Thailand for five years.

DGTR Probe

The commerce ministry has recommended the imposition of a 12 per cent provisional safeguard duty for 200 days on certain steel products with an aim to protect domestic players from a surge in imports.

In December 2024, the DGTR started the probe into the sudden surge in imports of 'Non-Alloy and Alloy Steel Flat Products', used in various industries, including fabrication, pipe making, construction, capital goods, auto, tractors, bicycles, and electrical panels.

In a notification dated March 18, the DGTR said that there exist critical circumstances, where any delay in application of provisional safeguard measures would cause damage which would be difficult to repair.

Anti-dumping probes are conducted by countries to determine whether domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.

As a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO).

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

India and China both are members of the WTO. China is the second largest trading partner of India. The country has time and again flagged serious concerns over the widening trade deficit with the neighbouring country which stood at $85 billion in 2023-24.