India begins anti-dumping probe against vinyl tiles imports

India has started an anti-dumping probe against imports of vinyl tiles used in residential and commercial sectors from China, Taiwan and Vietnam. The Ministry of Commerce's investigation arm Directorate-General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), is probing the alleged dumping of vinyl tiles rather than in roll or sheet form. According to DGTR, Welspun India Limited, Welspun Flooring Limited, and Welspun Global Brands Limited filed a petition to impose anti-dumping duty on imports from China, Taiwan and Vietnam. The applicants alleged that the dumping of products is affecting the domestic industry, which started commercial production in 2019. DGTR said that based on the duly substantiated written application by or on behalf of the domestic industry, based on the prima facie evidence submitted by the industry about the dumping of products, the authority would initiate an investigation. If it is proven that the dumping caused material injury to the domestic players, DGTR would recommend imposing anti-dumping duty on the imports. Several countries started anti-dumping probes to find out whether the domestic industries are getting hurt because of the surge in cheap imports. The countries impose these anti-dumping duties under the multilateral regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The anti-dumping duty focuses on fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic industries with foreign producers and exporters. India has already imposed anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports from foreign countries like China. Image Source Also read: Govt plans to not impose anti-dumping duty on specific steel products