Beijing /New Delhi, May 8 – China on Wednesday imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of an Indian insecticide, in a move widely interpreted as retaliation against New Delhi’s recent trade policies and growing alignment with the United States on economic matters.
The Ministry of Commerce said it would begin levying duties on Indian shipments of cypermethrin, a widely used insecticide, after concluding that Indian exporters had been dumping the product into the Chinese market, causing substantial injury to domestic industry.
The decision comes days after India imposed a 12% tariff on certain steel imports, a move Chinese officials said would primarily affect their exporters.
A post by Yuyuantantian, a social media account affiliated with China’s state broadcaster and frequently used to signal official thinking, framed the duties as a warning to India and other nations considering trade deals perceived to undermine Chinese interests.
“This retaliation against India is to tell India to stop insisting on its wrongdoing,” the post said. “For those countries that are still waiting to see what happens and have similar thoughts, this is also a clear signal: if you want to use China’s interests as a bargaining chip… we will certainly take countermeasures.”
The duties mark the first public action by Beijing after issuing repeated warnings that it would respond forcefully to countries striking trade deals with Washington at China’s expense.
In late April, India had signaled it was making progress on a partial trade agreement with the United States, describing the talks as offering “early mutual wins.” Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News that the U.S. has been preparing to ask countries seeking tariff relief to scale back their economic ties with China in return.
The tensions come as top U.S. and Chinese trade officials are set to meet in Switzerland later this week, in what analysts say could be a tentative step toward de-escalation after months of heightened friction.
