India has launched anti-dumping investigations into five products imported from China after domestic manufacturers alleged that cheaper shipments were harming their businesses, adding to a widening set of trade-remedy actions involving Chinese goods.
The investigations have been initiated by the Directorate General for Trade Remedies (DGTR), the commerce ministry’s investigation arm, through six separate notifications. The products under examination are persulphates used in the textile industry, clavulanic acid used as an active pharmaceutical ingredient, certain counterbalance forklifts, internally grooved copper tubes and pipes, and caprolactam, a chemical used in fabric production.
The domestic companies that filed the applications have requested anti-dumping duties on the imports. In one of its notifications, the DGTR said it had initiated an investigation after receiving a duly substantiated written application from or on behalf of the domestic industry and prima facie evidence concerning dumping.
An anti-dumping investigation examines whether imported goods are being sold below their normal value and whether those imports have caused material injury to domestic producers. If the DGTR establishes both dumping and injury, it can recommend duties. The final decision to impose such duties rests with the finance ministry.
The latest action comes as India’s trade deficit with China continues to expand. India’s exports to China rose 36.66% to $19.47 billion in the last fiscal year, while imports increased 16% to $131.63 billion. The trade deficit reached an all-time high of $112.6 billion in 2025-26, compared with $99.2 billion in 2024-25.
The DGTR has also started a separate anti-subsidy, or countervailing-duty, investigation into Insoluble Sulphur imported from China. The chemical is used in the rubber industry. The applicant has alleged that Chinese exporters benefited from subsidies provided at different levels by the Chinese government. The investigation will assess the existence, extent and effect of the alleged subsidisation and determine whether a duty is required to remove injury to Indian producers.
Other trade-remedy proceedings are also under way. The DGTR is investigating alleged subsidisation of uncoated writing and printing paper imported from Indonesia after an application by the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association. It has recommended countervailing duties on jute products from Bangladesh and Nepal, ranging from $60.54 to $140.04 per tonne. The finance ministry will take the final decision on those duties.
The directorate has separately initiated a sunset review of anti-dumping duties on ceramic tableware and kitchenware from China, excluding knives and toilet items. The review will assess whether ending the existing duties could lead to continued or renewed dumping and injury to Indian producers.
Further reviews concern toluene di-isocyanate imports from China, Japan and South Korea, and sodium cyanide imports from China and the European Union. Toluene di-isocyanate is used in furniture cushions, industrial gaskets, protective pads, automobile seats, linings and packaging. Sodium cyanide is used in gold and silver extraction, metal heat treatment, insecticides, dyes, pigments, bulk drugs, agrochemicals, nylon intermediates and pharmaceutical intermediates.
Anti-dumping and countervailing measures are permitted under the World Trade Organization’s multilateral trade framework. The DGTR’s investigations do not themselves impose duties; any levy will follow the authority’s findings and a final decision by the finance ministry.
