HQ Team
January 6, 2023: Investigators from India’s Director General of Trade Remedies have started an anti-dumping probe into vitamin A palmitate imports from China, the EU and Switzerland.
Indian drugmaker Piramal Pharma filed a petition with authority and alleged that the import of the product was harming the domestic industry. It had urged for the imposition of anti-dumping duties.
The Director General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) intends to provide a level playing field to the domestic industry against the adverse impact of unfair trade practices.
These trade practices include dumping and actionable subsidies from any exporting country using remedial trade methods under the relevant framework of WTO arrangements.
Vitamin A Palmitate is used in a wide variety of intermediate products falling under various sectors, including food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries, according to Piramal. The customs classification of the product is indicative only and is not binding on the scope of the product.
Similar products
According to Piramal, the products produced by India are similar to those originating in or exported in terms of technical specifications, manufacturing process & technology, functions & uses, and tariff classification.
“The applicant has claimed that it is the sole producer of the subject goods in India,” according to a statement from DGTR.
“The applicant has taken the data for 15 months, from April 2020 to June 2021, and has annualized it for 2020-21 on a pro-rata basis for the injury assessment.”
Piramal claimed that China should be treated as a non-market economy as the company could not obtain reliable information on the price of the product for calculating the product’s average value; hence, must apply anti-dumping rules.
The authority, for the initiation of the investigation, has accepted the applicant’s claim in respect of the determination of the standard value for China PR. European Union and Switzerland, according to the statement.
Information furnished by the applicant has been considered for assessment of injury to the domestic industry because of dumped imports of the subject goods from the subject countries, DGTR stated.
ROI hit
The applicant has claimed that because of the adverse volume and price effect of the dumped imports, its performance has deteriorated regarding cash profit, profit and return on investment.
The DGTR has initiated an investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of any alleged dumping and to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which, if levied, would be adequate to “remove the injury to the domestic industry.”
In the past, India had imposed anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports. In a separate notification, the DGTR initiated an anti-dumping probe into self-adhesive vinyl used for mounting on walls or rigid surfaces.
The petition was filed by Pioneer Polyleathers, on behalf of the domestic industry, for the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of the product from China.
The applicant has claimed that China must be asked to demonstrate that market economy conditions prevail in the industry about the manufacture, production and sale of the product under consideration.
