India considers anti-dumping duty on Korean, Chinese & Thai alloy wheels

Indian Government is considering anti-dumping duty on some types of aluminium alloy wheels imported from Thailand, Korea and China to protect domestic manufacturers from cheaper imports.

In its initial findings, the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has recommended import duty ranging from USD 1.18 to USD 2.15 per kg on cast aluminium alloy wheels from the above three countries, the Commerce Ministry said in a notice.

The notice suggests import duties for alloy wheels with a dimension of 12 to 24 inches.

While the Commerce Ministry recommends the restrictive duty, it is the Finance Ministry which will impose it. The Directorate has found the alloy wheels imported from these countries are much below its normal value and felt the need of imposing dumping duties on them.

"...imposition of anti-dumping measures would remove the unfair advantages gained by dumping practices, would prevent the decline of the domestic industry and help maintain availability of wider choice to the consumers of the goods," it added.

Nevertheless, imposition of dumping duties might affect the price range of the products that use cast aluminium alloy wheels during manufacturing process.

The DGAD, has initiated the investigations in December 2012 keeping the period of investigation for the purpose from July 2011 to June 2012.

Alloy wheel imports from Korea, Thailand and China increased to 12,497 tonnes (during July 2011 to June 2012) from 3,066 tonnes in 2009-10. The imports stood at 4,719 tonnes in 2010-11 and 12,039 tonnes in 2011-12.

Because of a surge in cheaper imports, domestic industries get affected and countries consider anti-dumping duties as a counter measure to that under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.