Anti-dumping Duty Imposed on Certain Chinese Steel Products

In this file photo, Chinese national flags are flying near a steel factory in Wu’an, Hebei province, China, on February 23, 2017. (Image for representation: Reuters/Thomas Peter)

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of certain steel wire rods from China for five years, with a view to guard the interest of domestic players from cheap in-bound shipments.

The duty was imposed after the commerce ministry’s directorate general of anti-dumping and allied duties (DGAD) recommended duty on such imports.

In its findings, the DGAD had concluded that ‘wire rod of alloy or non-alloy steel’ has been exported to India at below the normal value due to which domestic industry has suffered material injury.

“The anti-dumping duty imposed…shall be effective for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of imposition of anti-dumping duty, that is, the 2nd November, 2016 and shall be payable in Indian currency,” the department of revenue said in a notification.

The duty would be the difference between the landed value of the steel products and USD 535 per tonne while for others, it should be the gap between the landed value and USD 546 per tonne.

These steel products are used in many sectors such as automotive components, railway, engineering and construction. India has already slapped anti-dumping duty on certain cold-rolled flat steel products from four nations, including China and South Korea.

While DGAD recommends the duty to be levied, the finance ministry imposes it.

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.

Anti-dumping 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.