China slaps anti-dumping duties on chemical from India, Japan

China has imposed anti-dumping duties on ortho dichlorobenzene (ODCB) imported from India and Japan which will come into effect from Wednesday.

The domestic industry has been subject to substantial damages due to the dumping of these products, the Chinese Commerce ministry said on Tuesday in a final ruling after anti-dumping investigations into the imports.

Significantly, the anti-dumping duties announcement coincided with the trade talks between visiting Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan and Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen here on Tuesday.

The two sides also held a detailed discussion on the widening trade deficit which last year climbed to USD 57.86 billion in the total USD 95.54 total bilateral trade.

From Wednesday, duties will be collected at rates ranging from 31.9 per cent to 70.4 per cent for a five-year period, the Chinese Commerce ministry said, state run Xinhua news agency reported.

After receiving complaints from the domestic industry, the ministry launched the anti-dumping investigations in January 2018, and a preliminary ruling was unveiled in October 2018.

ODCB can be used for producing chemical products that are widely used in making pesticides, medicine and dyes.