India may impose anti-subsidy duty on imports of copper wire rods from 4 nations

India may impose anti-subsidy duty for a period of five years on copper wire rods from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam after concluding a probe that these imports have impacted domestic players.

The commerce ministry's investigating arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) in September last year started a probe into an alleged subsidisation of exports of 'continuous cast copper wire rods' by these four countries.

Hindalco Industries and Vedanta Industries (Sterlite Copper) had filed an application on behalf of domestic industry before the DGTR alleging subsidisation of the products from these four nations, and requested the initiation of an anti-subsidy investigation.

The directorate has recommended "imposition of definitive countervailing duty (or anti-subsidy duty) for a period of five years," it said.

The finance ministry takes the final call to impose these duties.

In the probe, the DGTR has concluded that the products have been exported to India from these countries at subsidised prices.

"The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to subsidisation of the product. The injury has been caused by the subsidised imports of the goods originating in or exported from these countries," it added.

The directorate has recommended duty in the range between 2.47 per cent and 10.27 per cent on the landed value of the product in India.

The petitioners had alleged that the producers/exporters of the goods in these countries have benefitted from the "actionable subsidies" provided at various levels by the governments of these countries.

The period of investigation was 2017-18 (12 months). It also covered the data of 2014-17.

Countervailing or anti-subsidy duty is a country-specific duty which is imposed to safeguard domestic industry against unfair trade subsidies provided by the local governments of the exporting nations.