Despite the Indian Commerce Ministry’s recommendation to extend the anti-dumping duty on imports of carbon black from China and Russia, the country’s Finance Ministry has decided to drop the tax. This move will benefit hundreds of domestic producers of rubber goods and potentially bring down the cost of imports of carbon black for small- and medium-sized rubber goods manufacturers, which may lead to cost reductions, benefitting thousands of end-consumers.
In November, the Indian government had initially decided to extend the anti-dumping duty on imports of carbon black until December 31, 2020. But on December 22, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), a designated authority in the Commerce Ministry, called for an extension of the duty, stating that there was “positive” evidence that its removal would harm the domestic industry. Instead, it recommended two duties: $494 per tonne for imports coming from China and $36.17 per tonne for ones coming from Russia.
However, India’s Finance Ministry has ultimately decided not to implement such duties out of fear that they will lower costs of imports of carbon black for rubber goods manufacturers and tire makers and bring down protection levels for domestic makers such as Birla Carbon and Himadri Speciality.
Vikram Makkar, president of All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA), showed support for this move, stating, "This move stands in favor of the domestic players as far as the Indian rubber goods industry is concerned.” Rohit Kr Singh, the director-general at AlRIA, also expressed his views on the extension, saying, “At a time when there is a shortage of carbon black supply for the non-tire rubber product manufacturing industry, the omission (non-continuation) of anti-dumping duty on the imports of ‘carbon black’ used in rubber applications by the Government comes as a major relief for the MSMEs and the sector at large.”
Learn More with EXIMA News
EXIMA News is committed to making international trade easy and making sure our users have all the necessary information they may need to trade confidently. Take a look at our News Page to learn more about current events today!
