Dumping of aluminium has adversely affected the local industry and the applicants requested for imposition of the anti-dumping duty on the imports, a government official said.
After recommending provisional anti-dumping duty be imposed on import of Ciprofloxacin HCL from China, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has initiated a probe into the alleged dumping of aluminium foil from countries like China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, following a complaint by domestic manufacturers.
In a notification, DGTR said that on the basis of prima facie evidence submitted by the applicants, "the authority, hereby, initiates an investigation".
The application was filed by Hindalco Industries, Raviraj Foils and Jindal India. "These companies wanted an investigation on imports of aluminium foil of 80 micron and below, for anti-dumping from these countries," a senior government official said.
Dumping of aluminium has adversely impacted the local industry and the applicants requested for imposition of the anti-dumping duty on the imports, the official said.
The period of investigation is from April 2019 - March 2020. It would also look into the data of April 2016-19 period.
In international trade parlance, dumping happens when a country or a firm exports an item at a price lower than the price of that product in its domestic market.
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Dumping impacts price of that product in the importing country, hitting margins and profits of local manufacturing firms.
According to global trade norms, a country is allowed to impose tariffs on such dumped products to provide a level-playing field to domestic manufacturers. The duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as DGTR, in India.
In its probe, the directorate has to conclude whether the imported products are impacting domestic industries.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime. These countries are members of the Geneva-based organisation, which deals global trade norms.
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.
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