Synthetic textiles industry makes anti-subsidy petition on Chinese imports

Industry representatives outcry Chinese imports impacting domestic man-made fibre industry

Industry representative bodies led by Synthetic Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry (FIASWI) and Association of Synthetic Fibre Industry (ASFI), among others have made an anti-subsidy petition with the central government against Chinese imports.

Troubled by Chinese imports that have been impacting the domestic man-made fibre industry, industry bodies have asked the government to expedite work on seeking clarification from the Chinese government on various subsidies offered to its exporters that leads to dumping of synthetic fibre and yarn products in India.

"Four main industry bodies which represent man-made fibre industry in India together have approached the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce on how to curb cheap imports from China. These imports are mainly due to several subsidies offered by China. In our representation, we have suggested a levy of 20% levy as anti-subsidy based on a list of over 20 subsidy schemes that are offered to Chinese exporters," said Anil Rajvanshi, chairman of SRTEPC.

Synthetic textiles imports from China to India in 2015-16 stood at $ 800 million, primarily because of surplus capacity in the neighbouring country.

While India has a total installed capacity of five million of synthetic fibre, China has a surplus of nine million tonnes. Due to slowdown in China, the country has been dumping the surplus into India on the back of subsidies offered by the government.

"We have requested the Indian government to seek an explanation from their Chinese counterpart on the subsidies. Based on the responses, we hope a custom duty will be charged on the landed price after calculating the subsidies," said Rajvanshi.