INDIA MONITORS DUMPING AMID U.S.-CHINA TARIFF ROW

US trade representative emphasized that these measures are necessary to counter flooding of global markets with low-cost Chinese products.

- NIVEDITA MUKHERJEE

Even as the US-China trade irritant evolving from the American administration’s proposed high tariff increases on Chinese imports of electric vehicles, batteries, medical supplies and many other products, threatens to escalate into a tariff war, the contentious situation is being seeing by India as an opportunity to seize the space left by an inevitable supply gap. The view is finding resonance in industry, among exporters and importantly in Government with stakeholders hopeful of extracting advantage using vigilance and mechanism at disposal to deal with possible dumping from China.

For a perspective, in 2023, the US imported goods worth USD 427 billion from China and exported USD 148 billion, highlighting a significant trade imbalance and prompting the proposed increases as part of the US’s broader strategy under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, to combat what it claims as unfair trade practices by China. This includes issues related to technology transfer, cyber intrusions and cyber theft. 

The US Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, emphasized that these measures are necessary to counter the flooding of global markets with lowcost Chinese products.