Anti-dumping duty likely on certain type of synthetic rubber

A man works inside a rubber scrap yard on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad June 25, 2012. India's natural rubber imports in the year ending March 2013 are likely to drop by 27 percent from a year ago to 150,000 tonnes as local output rises and as international prices are not very attractive for importers, a senior government official said. To match Interview RUBBER-INDIA/IMPORTS/ REUTERS/Amit Dave (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS COMMODITIES AGRICULTURE TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR344LC

The government may impose anti- dumping duty of up to USD 266 per tonne on a certain type of rubber, used in items like footwear and conveyor belts, from EU, Korea and Thailand.

Imposition of the duty is recommended by the Directorate General of Antidumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), an investigation arm of the commerce ministry, with a view to guard domestic players from cheap imports.

In its findings, the DGAD) has concluded that dumping of 'Styrene Butadiene Rubber of 1,500 and 1,700 series' from these three regions are "suppressing the prices of the domestic industry, impacting profitability".

The DGAD in a notification has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty to remove the injury to the domestic industry.

The suggested duty ranges between USD 26.58 per tonne to USD 266 per tonne.

While DGAD recommends the duty, finance ministry imposes it.

The Indian Synthetic Rubber Pvt Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd have filed the application for the dumping investigations.

Imports of this rubber from these three regions have increased to 1,48,732
tonnes during the period of investigations (October 2014- September 2015) from 1,18,468 tonnes in 2012-13.

Countries impose anti-dumping duties to guard domestic industry from surge in below-cost imports.

India has also imposed similar duties on several other products including steel, fabrics and chemicals being exported by different countries here like China.

Anti-dumping steps are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry.

They are not a measure to restrict import or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products.