As many as 15 anti-dumping duties have been imposed in the first 11 months of the current fiscal with the maximum on Chinese goods, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia informed the Rajya Sabha today.

Of the 15 cases (between March 2009 and February 20, 2010) 11 are against China, Scindia said.

The other countries on which the duty has been imposed include Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the US and the UK.

Acting on applications by domestic industries, Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) recommends duties, following which the Finance Ministry imposes them.

The anti-dumping duties imposed are mostly on products such as fabrics, industrial chemicals, auto parts, electronic items and machineries.

Against China, the products on which the duty was imposed includes television picture tubes, ceramic tiles, tyre curing presses, carbon black, radial tyres and certain stainless steel products.

Scindia also informed, "Workshops are organised from time to time by the Department of Commerce to sensitise the representatives of export promotion councils and apex chambers of trade and industry on the issues of anti-dumping."

Countries initiate anti-dumping probe to see whether 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.

By PTI Mar 03 2010 , New Delhi

Source: www.mydigitalfc.com