Anti-dumping duty on pesticide chemical from China

NEW DELHI: The government has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to USD 1.15 per tonne on a chemical used in pesticides, to protect the domestic industry from the cheap Chinese shipments.

The restrictive duty on Diethyl Thio Phosphoryl Chloride will impact shipments from seven Chinese enterprises.

"The anti-dumping duty imposed shall be levied for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier)...," read the notification by the Department of Revenue.

The Commerce Ministry had earlier recommended the duty on import of the chemical. A provisional anti-dumping duty on the chemical was imposed in June last year.

Diethyl Thio Phosphoryl Chloride is a highly toxic chemical and is used in production of pesticides like phoxime and prarathion.

The principle of anti-dumping duty, a WTO compatible tool, is to prevent dumping, to ensure fair trading practices and to create a level playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters, resorting to dumping.