New Delhi, June 18 The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duties on tin milled flat rolled steel products used for packaging of food and non-food items originating in or exported from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the US
“The DGTR has conclusively established in its investigation that imports of the item was taking place below the associated normal value (prices lower than judged normal) and was hurting domestic producers,” an official said.
For tin milled flat rolled steel products originating or being exported from Japan, the EU, the US and South Korea, the DGTR has proposed an anti-dumping duty of $222 per tonne, $310 per tonne, $334 per tonne and $251 per tonne respectively.
“Only for products exported by Nippon Steel Corporation from Japan, the proposed anti-dumping duty is zero as the injury margin found by the DGTR is nil,” the official said. The anti-dumping duties will be put in place once the Finance Ministry notifies them.
The anti-dumping investigation on the item was initiated by the DGTR in June 2019 following complaints of dumping by domestic producers JSW Vallabh Tinplate Private Limited and The Tinplate Company of India Limited.
Detailed questionnaires were sent to 15 exporters of tinplate items from the four trading partners. These included ArcelorMittal in France, Spain and the US, Posco in South Korea and JFE Steel Corporation and Nippon Steel Corporation in Japan.
Lower import prices
The DGTR observed that the landed value of the imports was much lower than $900 per tonne(claimed to be the internationally standard price), even with the addition of the basic customs duty during the period of investigation (January 1, 2018-December 31, 2018). For Japan, the EU, the US and South Korea, the landed value of imports per tonne was $808, $725, $666 and $642 respectively.
The domestic industry submitted that even though the domestic sales had increased, the market share of the domestic industry had remained flat in the period of investigation, while the share of imports had risen by 12 points in 20l6-17 and 2017-18, and by 6 indexed points in the period of investigation) as compared to the base year.
A rise in demand has not benefitted the domestic industry in any manner, as the additional demand has been captured by low-priced dumped imports, it argued.
The complainants further pointed out that dumped imports coming from subject countries in significant volumes was the only cause of injury being suffered by them and there was a causal link between the injury suffered by the domestic industry and the increase in low-priced dumped imports coming into India
Making a case for the duties, in its final verdict, the DGTR stated that the product under consideration has been exported to India from the subject countries below its associated normal value, thus resulting in dumping.
The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to dumping of the product under consideration from the subject countries.