India Contemplating Imposing Anti-Dumping Duty On Chinese Glass Imports

The commerce ministry’s investigation arm, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), conducted a probe which found evidence of dumping and harm to the domestic industry.

The commerce ministry has suggested imposing an anti-dumping duty on the import of Chinese glass. The recommendation has come in the light of inspection by the commerce ministry’s investigation arm, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

The suggestion has been made to protect the domestic industry players from cheap inbound shipments from China. The finance ministry will make the final decision regarding the imposition of the duty, reported PTI. 

The DGTR initiated the investigation of the alleged dumping of toughened glass for home appliances having a thickness in the range of 1.8 MM to 8 MM and an area of 0.4 SqM or less' originating in or exported from China. The probe began after the Federation of Safety Glass, registered an application to start the anti-dumping investigation. The federation is an association of safety/specialty glass processors. 

The DGTR found evidence of dumping and harm to the domestic industry and noted that the product was exported at a price below the normal level to India which caused dumping, in turn impacting the local manufacturers.

Based on the findings, the DGTR recommends imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on the imports for a period of five years, the body stated in it’s notification. The suggested duty ranges between $41.8 per tonne and $243 per tonne.

Notably, countries conduct anti-dumping probes to ascertain the impact on domestic industries due to the increase in cheap imports. To counter this, the countries levy duties under the multilateral regime of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO). The duty is levied to ensure fair trading practices and build an equal playing field for domestic and international producers and exporters.

The DGTR conducted the investigation from April 2021 to March 2022 to understand the existence, degree, and effect of the dumping and to provide recommendations on the amount of anti-dumping duty to compensate the domestic players.

Currently, India already imposes anti-dumping duties on multiple products to tackle cheap imports from many countries, including China.