India imposes antidumping duty on 98 products from China

India has imposed antidumping duty on as many as 98 products, as on December 27 last year, imported from China, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. The products on which the duty was imposed include flax fabrics, vitamin C, certain fibres and chemicals, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

He also said trade deficit with China stood at USD 36.73 billion during April-October this fiscal. “Increasing trade deficit with China can be attributed primarily to the fact that Chinese exports to India rely strongly on manufactured items to meet the demand of fast expanding sectors like telecom and power,” he said.

Countries initiate antidumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports.

Story continues below this ad

As a counter measure, they impose duties under the multilateral WTO regime.

Antidumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products.