May 21 – In the last two years, China has grown to become the largest source of India’s imports; forcing Indian authorities to implement anti-dumping measures.
India has already filed 17 World Trade Organization anti-dumping cases against China beginning October 2008. It is imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports to protect local industries from a flooding of cheap goods. These items include fabrics, nylon tire cord, yarns and high-end stainless steel products. Other goods are also under investigation for anti-dumping.
India imported US$24.16 billion worth of goods from China in April-December 2008, doubling in amount from US$12.64 billion compared to the same period in the previous year. “China continued to be the single largest source of imports, with a share of 10.3 per cent in total imports followed by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the United States and Switzerland,” the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement.
Dumping happens when an importing foreign company begins to sell goods at unreasonably lower prices that undercut local manufacturers. The issue is even more pressing today given the challenges that the global financial crisis is posing to businesses in general. Experts told The Economic Times that with the recession in United States and Europe, there should be increased level of trade between China and India.
“Major markets for both India and China are in recession and this provides an opportunity for the two Asian countries to increase their exports and imports,” CRISIL principal economist, D. K. Joshi told the publication.
