India has sharply stepped up its anti-dumping measures by imposing nine final and eight provisional duties in 2000 alone. According to the commerce ministry, the number of final duties imposed since 1997 has gone up by 36.
Three years back, India was ranked 12th in anti-dumping measures. Now, experts say, it is probably close to the fifth rank. The country topped the charts in 1998 in Asia.
The US tops the global list of anti-dumping duties with over 200 imposed so far, while the European Union comes second.
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India has so far imposed 89 anti-dumping duties _including provisional duties_of which 33 were imposed in 1999 alone, said Nilanjan Banik, consultant with the New Delhi-based Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
According to him, 12 anti-dumping duties have been imposed in January-April 2000. This equals the 1997 figure.
With Indian companies becoming more vigilant against dumping, the number of complaints with the commerce ministry has gone up by 37 per cent over the last two years. In 1999, the number of complaints was 35 against 13 in 1997.
The first anti-dumping case in India was registered in 1992-93 against polyvinyl chloride resin imports from Brazil, Mexico, Korea and the US.
Thereafter, the process gathered momentum with instances of anti-dumping cases rising from two during 1992-93 to 33 in 1999. "The maximum number of anti-dumping duties has been imposed against China, and in the area of chemicals," Banik said.