India imposes anti-dumping duty on 3 Chinese products for 5 years India has imposed anti-dumping duties on three Chinese products — wheel loaders, gypsum tiles, and industrial laser machinery — for five years to guard local manufacturers from cheap imports from the neighbouring country.These duties were imposed following recommendations of the commerce ministry’s investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).The DGTR in separate probes have concluded that these products have been exported at a price below normal value in Indian markets, which has resulted in dumping. The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to the dumping of these products.According to separate notifications of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued last month, the duties have been imposed on gypsum board/tiles with lamination at least on one side.Such duties have also been imposed on industrial laser machines, in fully assembled, Semi Knocked Down (SKD) or Completely Knocked Down (CKD) form, used for cutting, marking, or welding operations; and wheel loader imported in the form of Completely Built Unit (CBU), or SKD. Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral WTO regime.Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. Both India and China are members of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO).India’s exports to China during 2022-23 stood at USD 15.3 billion while imports stood at USD 98.5 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 83.2 billion.
Logistics, good or bad, are driven by the states and the commerce ministry has a LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) report, based on perceptions. The 2023 version was released in December. Since states are heterogenous, in the reporting, they are divided into four groups—coastal, landlocked, north-east, and UTs. States that do well are called achievers. Nomenclature matters. Thus, states that are middling aren’t called average. They are called fast movers. States that are sub-par are called aspirers. Let me highlight coastal states, since 75% of export cargo is estimated to originate from them. Among coastal states, ones that do well are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The ones that lag are Goa, Odisha, and West Bengal. While India’s logistics performance may have improved over time, that’s not true of every state. Some have slipped. Most states have a state-level logistics policy, including Goa and Odisha. West Bengal, bottom of the pecking order in the coastal category, doesn’t have one. To quote from LEADS 2023, “Looking ahead, the State (West Bengal) could benefit from formulating a State Logistics Master Plan and State Logistics Policy to drive efficiency improvements and facilitate investments within the logistics sector and undertake consultation with the logistics stakeholders for educating and informing them about the initiatives State is undertaking for the development and improvement of logistics sector.”
Logistics has been talked about for a long time and India has also focused on improving performance. We are now getting some precise data on measurement and quantification. That helps.
Bibek Debroy, chairman, EAC-PM. Views are personal.