Maran: Qrs May Be Reimposed

The government will not hesitate to use all available mechanisms to ensure that imports do not cause any serious injury to the domestic producers, said Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry.

The government has decided to amend the provisions of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act ,1992, so that a safeguard action in the form of quantitative restrictions could also be applied if required, he said while responding to the Calling Attention Notice regarding the adverse effects of liberalisation of trade and free import of items manufactured by Indian industry. The bill will be introduced in the current session itself, he added.

 

To protect the interests of the domestic industry, including small scale industries, the government can utilise the mechanism of raising tariffs within the bound rates and also take measures such as anti-dumping action, imposition of countervailing duties and as a safeguard actions which are permissible under the WTO agreement, he added.

On Aril 01 this year India had removed Qrs on 714 items after it lost an appeal against the US in the WTO. India is to remove QRs on the remaining 715 items by April 01, 2001 to fulfil WTO obligations.

However, the removal of Qrs has not had an impact on imports. A perusal of the import data reveals that there has not been any surge of imports as a consequence of removal of Qrs. In fact, the rate of growth of imports which stood at 35.40 per cent in 1995-96 has come down progressively over the years to 13.2 per cent in 1996-97 and 14.2 per cent in 1998-99.

The Minister however did not agree with the opposition charge that the government was rushing through the reform process in detriment to the domestic industry particularly SSI which formed backbone of the country's exports.

''We do not believe in big bang or big ticket reform. We have to move forward more cautiously,'' he said.