Govt extends anti-dumping duty on certain steel items till December 4

The government has extended anti-dumping duty on a certain variety of steel products till December 4 this year with a view to guard domestic manufacturers from cheap imports coming from China, Malaysia and Korea.

The duty on imports of 'hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel 304 series' from the said countries was first imposed by the finance ministry on June 5, 2015, for five years. The duty was imposed in the range of USD 180-316 per tonne.

"The anti-dumping duty imposed...shall remain in force up to and inclusive of December 4, 2020, unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier," Department of Revenue said in a notification. The commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended extension of the duty for six months from these countries, after concluding a probe.

While DGTR recommends the duty to be levied, the finance ministry imposes it.

Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral WTO regime.

Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products. India has initiated maximum anti-dumping cases against "below-cost" imports from China.