Drop anti-dumping probe on stainless steel imports: utensil cos

Upset over a probe into whether anti-dumping duty should be imposed on imports of certain types of stainless steel products, utensils manufacturers today said any tax on the items would hurt an industry that employs over three lakh people.

The Commerce Ministry has initiated anti-dumping proceedings against imports of certain cold-rolled steel products from various countries, including China, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Europe. Cold-rolled steel is mainly consumed by the consumer durables industry.

In a statement, the All-India Stainless Steel Industries Association (AISSIA) said steel utensils and cutlery manufacturing and exporting units are already facing problems due to existing anti-dumping duty on stainless steel coils, the basic input for making products of the alloy.
    
"The utensils industry has urged the Commerce Ministry to immediately drop anti-dumping duty proceedings on stainless steel cold rolled products below 600 mm...," AISSIA said.
    
Anti-dumping duty is a restrictive mechanism to check the import of items at lower prices than those prevailing in the domestic market.
    
The utensils industry is mainly located in Maharashtra, Gujurat, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
    
The Finance Ministry imposes anti-dumping duty on the recommendations of the Commerce Ministry.