India may impose anti-dumping duty on rubber imports after the alleged dumping of said product from countries including China, Japan, Russia, and the European Union. A synthetic rubber manufacturing company based in India, Apcotex Industries Ltd., has filed an application before the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), within the Commerce Ministry, for imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of ‘Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber’ (NBR) from these countries.
NBR is used in the manufacture of various rubber products, such as oil seals, hoses, automotive products, gaskets, rice dehusking rolls, printers, and fabrics. Apcotex Industries has alleged that dumping of the product is affecting the domestic industry.
Dumping happens when a country or a firm exports an item at a price lower than the price of that product in its domestic market; dumping also impacts the price of that product in the importing country, later hitting margins and profits of manufacturing firms.
The DGTR has said that just evidence submitted by Apcotex Industries will guide “an investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of any alleged dumping” of the product from these nations and “to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty – which, if levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry.”
Imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime. As such, a country is allowed to impose tariffs on dumped products to provide a level-playing field to domestic manufacturers and foreign producers and exporters.