Duty slapped on HFR magnets from China

"Hard ferrite ring magnets originating in or exported from China has been exported to India below normal value, resulting in dumping," a notification issued by the designated authority in the commerce ministry said.

The provisional anti-dumping duty imposed would be Rs 21 per kg on imports of HFRM, pending final determination on all imports of HFRM originating or exported from China, the notification said.

However, the Electronics Component Manufacturers Association (ELCINA) said the domestic magnet manufacturers had totally monopolised the trade to such an extent that the manufacturers did not have any freedom to choose their suppliers.

They also addedthat imports from China had brought down the prices of magnets to a realistic level. But the ministry did not receive any response from the Chinese exporters. The petitioners had estimated the normal value of HFRM in China at Rs 39.81 per kg. But the average free-on-board (FoB) export price of ring magnets to India was Rs 17.78 per kg.

They argued that the product was being dumped in India much below its normal value. The production of domestic industry had declined sharply from 5117 tonnes to 4515 tonnes representing a decline of more than 10% in 1996-97 compared to the previous year.

The investigation was carried out by the commerce ministry for the period starting April 1, 1996 to September 30, 1997. The overall capacity utilisation of the domestic manufacturers also came down to 78.5 per cent in 1996-97 from 89% in 1995-96, the petitioners said.

Establishing the causal link between imports from China and injury to domestic industry, the ministry said there had been a steep decline in the averagesales realisation of the petitioner companies.