What are Anti-Dumping Duties? Imposed by India on 5 Chinese imports

Did you know that India has recently imposed anti-dumping duties on five Chinese goods? The motivation for this move is to neutralize the effect of cheap imports that have the potential to eliminate local producers. Targeted imports are aluminum foil, soft ferrite core, trichloroisocyanuric acid, certain thicknesses of vacuum insulated flasks and all reportedly exported to India at lower than normal prices.

What is “Dumping?”

Dumping is the practice of manufacturers selling products at lower market value than their domestic market. Dumping can create unfair trade advantages and make domestic industries in importing countries challenge competition.

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Why anti-dumping responsibilities?

Imagine you run a small business that makes steel products, but suddenly, cheap imports are flooding, making it difficult for you to compete. Here, the arrival of anti-dumping duties – they are the shield of local businesses to resist unfair competition.

How does anti-dumping responsibilities work?

The government imposes these duties after conducting proper investigations to see if imported products are offered at unfairly low prices, which can harm the domestic industry. In India, this task is performed by the Department of Trade Remedies (DGTR) of the Ministry of Commerce. DGTR keeps paying attention to imports and recommends taking the required measures.

Global rules and fair trade

Anti-dumping tariffs are not inventions by India, but are permitted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations. Under Article 6, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) allows countries to respond to dumping. Anti-dumping agreements ensure that these measures are fair and transparent.

How does it work?

If one country dumps goods in another market at unreasonable low prices, then the importing country imposes more tariffs on them. This sets its price level to normal and guarantees domestic industries.

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India’s trade struggle with China

China is India’s second largest trading partner, but that’s the trade deficit (the difference between India’s imports and exports from China) increased to $85 billion in 2023-24. To address this issue, India is imposing anti-dumping duties to cover up its industry and make the stadium higher.

By doing so, India gives a very clear message: cheap imports don’t have to be at the expense of local industries!