Anti-dumping duties can save ₹28,500 crore annually, boost domestic investment: Report

A report titled ‘Impact of Anti-Dumping Duties in India’ by C-DEP Research and the Centre for WTO Studies under the Commerce Ministry has stated that imposing anti-dumping duties on products currently under evaluation could help India save nearly ₹28,540 crore ($3 billion) annually in foreign exchange outflow and accelerate domestic investments worth around ₹70,000 crore.

Leading representatives from India’s domestic industries highlighted the adverse impact of dumped imports from China and other countries on domestic manufacturing capacities. The industries represented at the meeting reportedly account for a turnover of more than ₹2 lakh crore.

According to the report, a study of 33 products revealed that the current economic damage caused by dumped imports stands at nearly ₹1.54 lakh crore and could rise to between ₹2.68 lakh crore and ₹2.70 lakh crore by 2030. The report further warned that jobs at risk due to import-driven market distortions could increase from around 24,000 at present to nearly 38,000-42,000 by 2030.

The report also found that anti-dumping duties have a negligible impact on downstream costs and inflation. An analysis of 56 cases recommended by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) where duties were not imposed showed that the average impact on final consumer prices would have been only 0.023%, while in more than 91% of the cases the impact would have remained below 0.10%.

It further stated that even if 50% of the burden was passed on to consumers, the inflationary impact of 21 pending anti-dumping duty products would remain below 0.01%. The findings suggest that anti-dumping duties do not significantly increase prices for consumers while helping restore fair competition for domestic manufacturers.

The report placed special emphasis on the disproportionate impact of dumped imports on MSMEs. It stated that continuous dumping has forced plant closures in sectors such as sublimation-transfer paper, phone back covers and nylon filament yarn.

According to the report, failure to impose anti-dumping duties has severely affected local industries and MSMEs, increasing dependence on imports and damaging domestic manufacturing capacities.

In contrast, sectors such as cable ties, ceramic ware and vacuum flasks reportedly benefited from timely anti-dumping interventions, which helped MSMEs sustain operations, expand production and attract fresh investments.