The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has proposed a 12% provisional safeguard duty on certain steel products for 200 days to protect the domestic industry. This measure, alongside anti-dumping and countervailing duties, aims to address...
Domestic industry seeks relief measures such as anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards for protection against dumping, subsidisation and sudden surge in imports respectively.
The DGTR is responsible for investigating and recommending measures compliant with WTO rules. It initiates the probes for trade remedies action on the basis of an application received from the domestic industry
What is the difference between the measures?
Anti-dumping duty is to rectify a situation arising from the dumping of goods and its trade distortive impact.
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Countervailing measures seek to counteract artificially low prices that are a result of subsidies granted by the exporting country to its local industry. Subsidies can be in form of subsidised loans, tax sops and indirect payments, which enable exporters to export at lower prices.
Safeguards are used when imports of a product increase unexpectedly and cause or threaten to cause serious injury to domestic producers. Unlike anti-dumping and CVD, which are country-specific, safeguard duties apply irrespective of the country of export and give local producers a period of grace to become more competitive.
Who can apply for a trade remedy probe?
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The domestic producers who support an investigation application must account for at least 25% of the total production of the product.
How many trade remedies has India used?
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As per the WTO, India initiated 45 anti-dumping investigations in 2023 and imposed duties in 14 cases. 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. New Delhi initiated one safeguard investigation and imposed extra duties in two cases in 2023.
