India has imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of a chemical used in foam making from four regions, including the EU and Saudi Arabia, for five years to guard domestic players from cheap shipments. The duty was imposed following recommendation of the commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which conducted a probe into alleged dumping of 'Toluene Di-Isocynate' from the EU, Saudi Arabia, Chinese Taipei and the UAE.

According to a notification of the Department of Revenue,"the anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall be levied for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of imposition of the provisional anti-dumping duty, that is, the 2nd December, 2020".

The duty imposed ranged between USD 102.05 and USD 368.2 per tonne.

Toluene Di-Isocyanate (TDI) is a chemical used primarily for flexible foam applications, including furniture, bedding and carpet underlay, as well as packaging.

Countries carry out anti-dumping probes to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.

As a counter measure, they impose duties under the multilateral regime of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trade practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers.

 

Source: Economics Times