The Hindu Business Line : Provisional dumping duty mooted on fax paper imports from China

THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry today recommended imposition of provisional anti-dumping duty on imported cellophane transparent paper (TP) or TP film imported from China, which is widely used in fax machines.

TP is a re-generated cellulose film of glass clear transparency and sparkle. It is flexible but tough and withstands all the beatings in an automatic packaging operation and reveals outstanding machine ability as well as dimensional stability.

In response to a written complaint filed by Kesoram Industries, Kolkata, against cheaply produced inferior TP paper inundating domestic market, the authority initiated probe and came to the conclusion that there has been significant increase in the volume of dumped imports from China in absolute terms and also in relation to imports.

The authority held that even though production, capacity utilisation, productivity, wages showed positive trend, decline in market share of the domestic industry and financial losses suffered by the domestic industry in its operations of the subject goods conclusively establish existence of material injury.

Accordingly, the authority has recommended imposition of $1.90 per kg of TP or TP film imported from China. The injury analysis indicates that imports from China in relation to total imports of the product under probe in India rose from 39 per cent to 73 per cent over the injury period save the year 2002-03.

Imports from China in relation to production in India also rose from 4.55 per cent (201-02) to 20.67 per cent in 2004-05. Import from China in relation to demand also surged from 4.40 per cent to 19.28 per cent over the period.

Referring to the plea of user industry of the imported subject goods that they are importing only sub-standard quality subject goods, the Authority said, "the difference in quality does not imply that the domestic product is not a like article to the imported product."