I recently stumbled upon a news report on Business Standard. It claimed anti-dumping duties can help India save $3 billion i.e., nearly INR 28,000 Crore in forex reserves. This means strengthening of the domestic markets and local jobs. Also, at the same time ensure quality raw materials in manufacturing. Reportedly, this could also indirectly strengthen a depreciating currency. Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), the nation’s trade watchdog off recently received multiple complaints. These were on heavy imports such as aluminium foil, glass, yarn, steel etc.

Despite having stricter quality control such complaints keep rising every now and then. Yet it continues due to over-dependence on a specific country. Therefore, diversification through free-trade agreements were pursued. Nevertheless, complaints keep coming in and balancing protectionism with competitiveness remains questionable. But the question is, what are the anti-dumping duties in other countries? What’s the casualty on the domestic manufacturing front? Which industries are the worst affected? How is government of India attempting to control this? Let us explore everything one after the other.

What are anti-dumping duties?

Let us begin with the basics. Anti-dumping duties are additional taxes or surcharges imposed by a nation on imported goods sold at unfairly low prices. For example, let us say China’s toys are sold in India for just INR 10/-. While the actual toy manufactured indigenously might cost INR 50/- and due to non-availability of certain cheap inputs for local manufacturers (which are otherwise available only in China). Hence anti-dumping duties are meant to protect a country’s domestic manufacturing from unfair overseas competition.

How anti-dumping duties help stabilise foreign exchange reserves?

More than protecting domestic manufacturing, anti-dumping duties help stabilise foreign exchange reserves. When a country imposes additional taxes, the possibility of the nation dumping those goods in the nation also reduces. For example, India had higher taxes on certain industries (as high as 110 per cent) as a measure of protectionism. Due to which foreign players were hesitant to enter the market. As a result, imports decline and so does the dependence on imports.

What are the complaints that DGTR is investigating?

Cold-rolled stainless steel sheets are critical raw materials involved in automobile manufacturing, consumer appliances, kitchen equipments, construction and railways. They are critical due to corrosion resistance, finish quality and strength. This means India’s domestic stainless steel consumption is nearly 4.85 million metric tonnes and of this reportedly, 20 per cent of the requirements are met through imports. China, Vietnam, and Indonesia are the top countries from where cold-rolled stainless steel sheets are imported.

As low priced imports flood the market, domestic producers might incur margin pressure and in due course will be forced to shut down. Automobile manufacturers look for cheaper alternatives due to margin pressures and so do others. Hence, they quickly switch to low priced imports.

How over-dependence on a specific country make way for more dumping?

China is referred to as the warehouse of the world. This means that the country has the ability to manufacture anything and everything at a highly competitive cost. Let us consider India sourcing all of its raw materials from China alone and to get a specialised advantage, India might consider signing an FTA with China to have unlimited access to a specific raw material. Subsequently, China agrees to take a few more commodities from India too for the price we fix.

Everything is rosy till now. One fine day, India realises the local manufacturing industries are nowhere to be found. A large number of young graduates are jobless. And the pressure on foreign exchange reserves are high due to continuous imports. And for China, they might be on the way to become the world’s largest economy as they have access to one of the largest consumption based economies of the world.

Which industries are the worst affected in India?

Steel and stainless steel industries are among the worst affected as price under cuttings have created margin pressures. A news report suggests that nearly 150 smaller steel mills have suspended operations due to low priced imports. MMR Region in Maharashtra, Ludhiana in Punjab, Rajkot in Gujarat, Hisar in Haryana, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Durgapur in West Bengal, and Kalinga Nagar in Odisha are some prominent clusters. If these clusters are facing pressures then 2.5 million jobs directly and indirectly are at stake. Added to this, National Steel Policy aims to create 400 million jobs by 2035-36, which will remain a dream if imports remain.

Similarly, electronics (semiconductors, PCBs, batteries, display units, sensors etc.) have nearly 45 per cent imports, which are high for a consumption based economy. Government’s production-liked incentive schemes are pushing for indigenous semiconductor manufacturing in large scale. However, the drive towards self-sustenance is slow.

However, the sad story is in solar equipment imports as nearly 90 per cent of Solar cells in India were imported from China in 2023-24. It is believed that by March 2025, the number came down to 56 per cent in solar cells and 65 per cent in solar modules. Multiple times indigenous manufacturers have raised concerns. Industry reports cite that dozens of solar cell and module manufacturers have shut shop due to import pressures.

How is Government of India attempting to control this?

India is currently on the path towards import-led consumption to indigenous production-led growth. PLI schemes, Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat are some of the schemes India has actively been promoting for a long time. However, much hasn’t changed due to various reasons such as lack of ecosystem led development, crippled logistics infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles. India imposed a five year anti-dumping duty on Vietnam, China, Indonesia and other countries in 2025. Reportedly, after investigations are over, additional anti-dumping duties might be imposed.

What are the average anti-dumping duties by different countries?

However, India’s Anti-dumping Duties range between 10 per cent and 60 per cent as against USA’s 123 per cent on India for certain products. It is also believed that USA has also imposed over 150 per cent duties on China in multiple instances. Therefore, the best practice here is to keep imposing more duties to cripple imports. Yet, this could be detrimental when a country lacks indigenous capacity too. As a result, the country becomes heavily dependent on imports for the benefit of certain industries.

What’s the way ahead for India’s growth?

The Business Standard report highlights savings of $3 billion on forex reserves. However, bilateral trade and diplomacy between nations matter too. Hence, India will consider taking a subtle measure that wouldn’t scare its allies and friends. And a heavy duty on China might also mean a trade war kind scenario. Here free trade agreements with multiple nations would be beneficial for India as it counts balances dependence and indigenous capabilities in a subtle manner. Will India aggressively lower imports strategically to push local industrial cluster growth? Let us wait and see.