Govt slaps duty on import of Chinese chemical, machine.

NEW DELHI: India has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to $213.34 per tonne on the import of a chemical from China, used in manufacturing glass,bricks and tiles, to protect the domestic industry.

After concluding that imports from China are at very low prices and have caused material injury to the domestic industry, the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD)-- the nodal agency under the commerce ministry-- has recommended anti-dumping duty on imports of Barium Carbonate.

"The domestic industry has suffered material injury... The injury has been caused by the dumped imports from China," the finance ministry said in a notification.

The duty ranges between USD 121.31 and USD 213.34 per tonne, it added.

Acting on complaints from the domestic industry DGAD had initiated probe into the dumping of the chemical from China, which increased to 25,513 tonne in 2008-09 from 13,539 tonne in the previous fiscal.

The anti-dumping duty imposed would be effective up to and inclusive of September 22, 2010.

The government has also imposed an anti-dumping duty for a period of five years on a certain type of plastic processing machine imported from China.

The duty imposed on the import of the machine is up to 174 per cent of the landed value of the product, the finance ministry said.

As many as 11 anti-dumping duties have been imposed on Chinese firms from April-February 2009-10.

Unlike safeguard duties, which are levied in a uniform way, anti-dumping duties vary from product to product and country to country.

Countries initiate anti-dumping probe to check if their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports. As a counter measure, they impose duties within the multilateral regime of the WTO.

Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level playing field to the domestic industry. It is not a measure to restrict imports or cause unjustified increase in cost of products.

Source : The Economic Times