New Delhi, June 25: India has imposed anti-dumping duties on four Chinese-origin chemicals this month, aiming to shield its domestic industries from cheap imports that could distort market prices, the finance ministry said in multiple notifications.
The duties, recommended by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), will remain in place for five years and apply to imports of PEDA (used in herbicides), Acetonitrile (used in pharmaceuticals), Vitamin-A Palmitate, and Insoluble Sulphur (used in the tyre industry).
The decision follows investigations that concluded these chemicals were being exported at prices below fair market value, harming domestic manufacturers. Duties imposed include:
- PEDA: $1,305.6 to $2,017.9 per tonne from China
- Acetonitrile: Up to $481 per tonne from China, Russia, and Taiwan
- Vitamin-A Palmitate: Up to $20.87 per kg from China, the European Union, and Switzerland
- Insoluble Sulphur: Up to $358 per tonne from China and Japan
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said the measures aim to ensure fair trade practices and maintain a level playing field between domestic producers and foreign exporters.
Anti-dumping actions are permitted under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to counter the adverse impact of unfairly priced imports. Both India and China are members of the WTO.
India has been stepping up efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese imports, as the bilateral trade deficit widened to $99.2 billion in the 2024–25 fiscal year. Exports to China declined 14.5% to $14.25 billion, while imports from China grew 11.5% to $113.45 billion over the same period.
