The government today said it would consider various measures, including imposing anti-dumping duties, to protect the domestic auto component industry from cheap imports.
“Last month, the component industry approached us to protect them from cheap imports... If it is required, we will impose anti-dumping duties, which will be completely in accordance with the WTO norms,” Additional Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industries, Surajit Mitra, said on the sidelines of a Ficci seminar here.
The government had asked the component players to support their demand with adequate data about imports and on which components or parts they needed protection, he added.
“Right now, we are waiting for the industry data to come. We are ready to take action, either in the form of safeguard duty if it is universal, or an anti-dumping duty if it is country-specific,” Mitra said.
He, however, denied that any such measure would lead to protectionism of the domestic market, saying “there is no question of protectionism as it will be fully WTO compliant”.
In the last financial year, imports constituted 31 per cent of the Indian component industry, Mitra said.
“In percentage terms, it may be very high, but in absolute terms, it may not be very high. Still, the imports are worrisome as they have been uni-directional,” he added.
Meanwhile, the government has been considering imposing anti-dumping duties on front axle beam and steering knuckles used in the production of commercial vehicles to guard the domestic industry from cheap Chinese shipments.
It is mulling a provisional anti-dumping duty in the range of $0.50 per kg to $0.69 per kg.
The Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has recommended to the commerce ministry the imposition of the duty.
Acting on an application from Pune-based Bharat Forge Ltd on behalf of the domestic industry, DGAD had initiated the investigation into dumping of auto components from China.
