India steps up scrutiny of China imports after US tariffs spark dumping concerns

China on April 4 struck back at the US tariffs with a slew of countermeasures including extra levies of 34 per cent on all US goods

Amid fears of a surge in Chinese imports in the country following US’ decision to impose reciprocal tariffs on several major trading partners, India has reportedly tightened monitoring of inbound shipments.

The Department of Commerce has been conducting a series of internal meetings, led by commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal, to formulate a comprehensive strategy in this regard, according to a report by Business Standard.

“The commerce department is alert,” the report quoted a person familiar with the matter. “It had been closely monitoring the import situation even before the US announced its reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday. The US has been levying additional tariffs on Chinese goods.”

US President Donald Trump on April 2 issued an executive order on reciprocal tariffs imposing additional ad-valorem duties ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent on imports from a number of its trading partners. The baseline duty of 10 per cent is effective from April 5 and the remaining country specific additional ad-valorem duty will be effective from April 9 onwards.

The impact on China is bigger as it has been hit with an additional tariff of 34 per cent, pushing the total duty to 54 per cent.

Meanwhile, China on April 4 struck back at the US tariffs with a slew of countermeasures including extra levies of 34 per cent on all US goods and export curbs on some rare earths, deepening the trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Beijing also imposed restrictions on about 30 US organisations, mostly in defence-related industries, adding to the already two dozen US companies punished over Trump's tariffs.

"The US move is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China's legitimate and lawful rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice," China's finance ministry said.

Meanwhile, the US President accused the country of panicking in a comment on his social media platform Truth Social. "China played it wrong, they panicked - the one thing they cannot afford to do!", he wrote on Friday.

With the trade war escalating, fears are rising that China could reroute its exports, increasing the threat of dumping in alternative markets. Accordingly, experts have cautioned the government over a more “proactive” approach.

Previously, the commerce department has emphasised that India’s anti-dumping safeguards are strong, backed by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies, which oversees the enforcement of such measures.

According to figures from the commerce department cited by Business Standard, India’s imports from China rose by 10.4 per cent to $103.7 billion between April and February of FY 2024–25, compared to the same period a year earlier. In contrast, exports to China dropped by 15.7 per cent, totaling $12.7 billion.