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India was the second country after the US in initiating and imposing anti-dumping duties among World Trade Organisation (WTO) members last year, Financial Express reported, citing WTO data.
Despite increasing the use of non-tariff measures in 2023, India’s average tariffs fell to 17 per cent from 18.1 per cent in 2022.
India’s anti-dumping measures
In 2023, India initiated 45 anti-dumping investigations and imposed duties in 14 cases, whereas the US started 64 investigations and imposed additional duties in 14 cases, according to the 2024 World Tariff Profiles, a publication by the WTO, International Trade Centre (ITC), and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
India has a total of 133 anti-dumping measures affecting 418 products. In 2022, India led WTO members with 29 anti-dumping investigations, said the report in the business daily.
In 2023, India initiated three countervailing investigations and imposed duties in three cases. In total, India has imposed countervailing duties in 17 cases covering 28 products. As an exporter, India faced four countervailing duty investigations and action in three cases. A total of 44 countervailing actions covering 173 products are currently in force against India.
Countervailing duties (CVD) target goods subsidised by their country of origin, which can harm domestic industries by lowering prices. The amount of CVD depends on the value of these subsidies.
In 2023, India initiated one safeguard investigation and imposed extra duties in two cases. Safeguard duties are temporary measures imposed to protect domestic industries from a surge in imports of a particular product. Unlike anti-dumping and CVD, which are country-specific, safeguard duties apply regardless of the country of export.
Anti-dumping measures against India
As an exporter, India was subjected to 11 investigations and faced anti-dumping duties in eight cases in 2023. Overall, India has faced anti-dumping actions in 103 cases covering 217 products. Anti-dumping duties aim to protect local companies from foreign suppliers who sell goods at significantly lower prices. The amount of anti-dumping duty is determined by the margin of dumping, the report added.
While India’s simple average tariffs have decreased, trade-weighted average tariffs rose to 12 per cent in 2023 from 11.4 per cent in 2022. The trade-weighted average reflects the average duty rate per imported unit.
Average tariffs on non-agricultural imports dropped to 13.5 per cent in 2023 from 14.7 per cent in 2022. Agricultural tariffs also fell to 39 per cent from 39.6 per cent. However, on a trade-weighted average basis, agricultural tariffs increased to 65 per cent in 2023 from 48.5 per cent the previous year, while non-agricultural tariffs decreased to 9 per cent from 9.2 per cent in 2022.
India’s final average bound tariff, the maximum rate agreed upon at the WTO, stands at 50.8 per cent for all products, with agricultural products at 113.1 per cent and non-agricultural products at 36 per cent.
First Published: Jul 27 2024 | 4:03 PM IST
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