India reviews anti-dumping duty on steel wheels from China

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India has started a probe to review whether the existing anti-dumping duty on flat base steel wheels imported from China should continue, keeping in mind interest of domestic manufacturers.

The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), an investigation arm of the commerce ministry, would also examine whether the expiry of the duty is likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and hurt the domestic industry. Kalyani Maxion Wheels and Wheels India Ltd have filed an application seeking review and continuation of the existing anti-dumping duties on import of the wheels.

The DGAD, in a notification, said it “hereby initiates investigation to review the need for continued imposition of the duties in force”. It said the present investigation is for sunset review of existing anti-dumping duty.

The authority has considered the period of October 2016 to September 2017 as the period of investigation. It would also consider the data of 2014–17 for the probe. In 2013, the finance minister had imposed the duty for five years. The duty was up to USD 613 per tonne on import of the product from China.

India has imposed anti-dumping duty on as many as 98 products imported from China, as on December 27 last year. The products on which the duty was imposed include flax fabrics, vitamin C, certain fibres and chemicals.

Trade deficit with China is always a concern for India. It stood at USD 36.73 billion during April–October this fiscal.

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 WTO regime. These measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products.

Source: PTI