Anti-dumping duty likely on certain type of steel from Brazil, China, Germany

The government may impose an anti-dumping duty of up to USD 3,263 per tonne on imports of a certain type of steel from Brazil, China, and Germany for five years, according to a government notification.

The commerce ministry's investigation arm DGTR has recommended the duty after concluding its probe on alleged dumping of 'High Speed Steel of Non Cobalt Grade' being imported from these three countries.

This steel is used for making high-speed steel-cutting tools.

It has concluded that the product has been exported to India from these nations below its normal value, which was resulting in dumping of the product.

The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to the dumping, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has said in a notification.

"The authority (DGTR) considers it necessary to recommend imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports" of the goods from these countries "for a period of five years," it said.

The anti-dumping probe was conducted following a complaint from Graphite India Ltd. It had asked for imposition of the duty on the imports.

The recommended duty ranges between USD 1,902.34 and USD 3,263.68 per tonne.

The final decision to impose the duty will be taken by the finance ministry.

A country conducts anti-dumping investigation on the basis of applications filed by the domestic industry with prima facie evidence of dumping of goods in the country.

The probe is a quasi-judicial process and is allowed under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. India is a member of the WTO, which has been framing laws for global exports and imports since 1995.

During April 2018 to March 2019, DGTR initiated 24 anti-dumping (both fresh and review) investigations, and issued final findings in 50 such cases.

Anti-dumping duties are levied to provide a level-playing field to local industry by guarding against cheap imports.

All the three countries are members of the WTO.