India may impose an anti-dumping duty of up to USD 719 per tonne for five years on imports of nylon filament yarn from the European Union and Vietnam following recommendations by the commerce ministry’s investigation arm DGAD.
Imposition of duty aims at guarding domestic manufacturers of this yarn from cheap imports coming from European Union and Vietnam.
Following complaints by five domestic players, the Directorate General of Antidumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) initiated a probe against alleged dumping of nylon filament yarn from the two regions.
In its final findings of the probe, the directorate has concluded that the product has been exported to India from these countries below normal values and that the domestic industry has suffered material injury on account of such dumped imports.
“The Authority recommends imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty...so as to remove the injury to the domestic industry,” the DGAD has said in a notification. The suggested duty ranges between USD 128.06 per tonne to USD 719.44 per tonne. The final view to impose the duty would be taken by the Finance Ministry soon.
Import of this yarn from EU and Vietnam has increased to 13,799 tonnes during October 2015–March 2017 (which was the period of investigation) from 7,201 tonnes in 2013–14.
Five domestic firms including JCT Ltd, Gujarat Polyfilms Pvt Ltd and AYM Syntex had filed an application for initiation of the investigations.
The major uses of this yarn are in home furnishing and industrial application such as curtains, sewing and embroidery thread and fishnets.
To recommend duties, the DGAD in its probe would have to establish that dumping has caused material injury to domestic players. Anti-dumping duties are levied to provide a level playing field to the local industry by guarding against below-cost import.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime. Both India and China are members of the Geneva-based body. 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. They are not a measure to restrict import or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products.