India has initiated an inquiry into the alleged dumping of electronic calculators from Malaysia. However, the final call will be taken by the Finance Ministry

• India has initiated a probe into the alleged dumping of electronic calculators from Malaysia following a complaint from the domestic industry
• The DGTR has called for anti-dumping duties to be imposed
• The final call on the imposition of duties will be taken by the Finance Ministry

India has initiated a probe into the alleged dumping of electronic calculators from Malaysia following a complaint from the domestic industry. Sufficient evidence has also been found in the Commerce Ministry’s investigation. "The authority hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry...to determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping and to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry," the DGTR(Directorate General Of Trade Remedies) stated in a notification.

Ajanta LLP files application to impose anti-dumping duty

An Indian company Ajanta LLP had filed the application for imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports from Malaysia. Malaysia is a key trading partner of India in the Southeast Asian region. The bilateral trade between the countries increased from 14.71 billion USD in 2017-18 to 17.25 billion USD in 2018-19. In international trade parlance, dumping happens when a country or a firm export an item at a price lower than the price of that product in its domestic market.

Finance Ministry to take a call on imposing anti-dumping duty

The final call to impose the anti-dumping duty will be taken by the Finance Ministry. This duty, if imposed would help guard domestic players against cheap imports of the product. The investigation will also take into consideration the data from 2015-18 to understand the impact of the imports.

Dumping duties allow fair-play filed in the market

Dumping also impacts the price of that product in the importing country, hitting margins and profits of manufacturing firms. According to global trade norms, a country is allowed to impose tariffs on dumped products to provide a fair playing field to domestic manufacturers in the importing countries. However, the duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as DGTR, in India. The directorate has to conclude whether the imported products are impacting domestic industries. The imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime. The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.

Source: Republic World