The Commerce Ministry's arm Directorate General for Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended extending anti-dumping duties on aluminium foil imports from China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia for another five years. The proposed duty on aluminium foil of 80 micron and below ranges from $93.53 per tonne to $976.99 per tonne. The Finance Ministry will take the final decision on the recommendation.
The DGTR has said that the authority, after examining submissions made by all interested parties in the present investigation, considers it appropriate and necessary to recommend continuation of definitive duties for a period of five years. The application for initiation of sunset review investigation was filed by Hindalco Industries, LSKB Aluminium Foils, Raviraj Foils, Shree Venkateshwara Electrocast, Shyam Sel and Power and SRF Altech.
According to the DGTR, dumped imports have impacted the profitability of the domestic industry. Despite duties in force, there are significant imports, especially from Thailand, Chinese exporters are highly export oriented and are likely to export higher quantities if duties cease. India had first imposed the anti-dumping duty on the product in September 2021 for five years.
Anti-dumping probes are conducted by countries to determine whether domestic industries have been hurt due to a surge in cheap imports. As a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO). The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.
