India Initiates Anti-dumping Probe On Some Steel Imports From China

India has initiated an anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel originating in or exported from China, a notification from the central government said. According to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Posco Maharashtra Steel and CSCI Steel Corporation India filed an application before the designated authority on behalf of the domestic industry.

As per the government notification, the applicants have alleged that the said commodity is being imported from China at dumped prices which they claimed are causing material injury to the domestic industry. The applicants have also alleged that there is a further threat of material injury to the domestic industry due to dumped imports and have requested for imposition of an anti-dumping duty on such imports from China.

Simply put, anti-dumping duties are taxes imposed on imported goods to compensate for the difference between their export price and their normal value, if dumping causes injury to producers of competing products in the importing country. The product under investigation is ‘cold rolled non-oriented electrical steel’ (CRNO). It includes cold-rolled flat steel products of silicon-electrical steel, whether or not in coils, regardless of width and thickness.

These products are widely used for iron core materials of rotating machines ranging from large-size power generators to small-size precision electric motors, which are used in a variety of applications like home appliances, large generators, and industrial motors, among others.

"The applicants have claimed that the subject goods, which have been alleged to be dumped in India, are identical to the goods produced by the domestic industry. There are no known differences in the technical specifications, quality, functions and end use of the two products. The Authority notes that the two are prima facie technically and commercially substitutable. Therefore, for the purpose of the present investigation, the subject goods produced by the applicants in India are being treated as 'like article' to the subject goods being imported from the subject country," read the official notification.

The parties who filed the application before the Indian authority are asked to give their comments, if any, within 15 days of the date of initiation of this investigation. (ANI)