Govt may impose anti-dumping duty on chemical used in polyester fibre

The government may impose anti dumping duty on a chemical used in polyester fibres and films, imported from five countries as the commerce ministry has launched an investigation for the same.

The ministry's investigation arm DGTR has initiated the probe into an alleged dumping of Mono Ethylene Glycol originating in or exported from Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Singapore, following a complaint from a domestic company.

Reliance industries Ltd has filed an application on behalf of domestic industry before the DGTR for initiation of the investigation.

According to a notification of the Directorate general of Trade Remedies (DGTR), the company has requested for imposition of anti-dumping duties on the imports.

India Glycols Limited has also supported the application.

It said that the authority has prima facie found that there is sufficient evidence of dumping of the chemical from these countries.

"The Authority hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping and consequent injury to the domestic industry," it said.

In the probe it would determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry.

If established that dumping has caused material injury to domestic industry, the directorate would recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty.

The period of investigation is January - September 2019. It would also look at the data of 2016-19.

Countries carry out anti-dumping probe to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.

As a counter measure, they impose duties under the multilateral regime of the World Trade Organization.

The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trade practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers.