Govt may impose antidumping on a chemical imported from 4 countries

The government may impose anti-dumping duty on the imports of a chemical, used in foam making, from four regions, including the EU and Saudi Arabia, to guard domestic players from cheap shipments.

The commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has initiated a probe into an alleged dumping of Toluene Di-Isocynate from the EU, Saudi Arabia, Chinese Taipei, and the UAE following a complaint filed by Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd.

Toluene DiIsocyanate (TDI) is a chemical used primarily for flexible foam applications including furniture, bedding and carpet underlay, as well as packaging applications.

DGTR in a notification has said that on the basis of the prima facie evidence submitted by the domestic industry about dumping of the product, it has initiated the investigations.

"The authority hereby initiates an investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of any alleged dumping," it said.

According to the notification of the Directorate, the company has requested for imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports.

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

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.