India’s Trade Protectionism
India, which is increasingly resorting to trade protectionism these days, has launched an anti-dumping investigation into toluene diisocyanate imported from China, Japan and South Korea.
Toluene diisocyanate, which is a raw material for polyurethane, is used in the production of insulating construction materials, car seats, rubber adhesives, fabric treatment products, artificial leather, paints, etc.
In the first half of this year, toluene diisocyanate exported from South Korea to India took up 19.07% of the Indian toluene diisocyanate market, taking 3rd place followed by China and Japan, during the period. India imported toluene diisocyanate worth a total of US$21.43 million from South Korea during the same period and a general tariff rate of 0% is currently applied to it according to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and South Korea.
According to the Chennai office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the Directorate General of Anti Dumping & Allied Duties of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of India recently launched anti-dumping investigations with regard to toluene diisocyanate imported from South Korea, China and Japan. The investigations were launched by a lawsuit filed by GNFC, the only toluene diisocyanate manufacturer in India. The investigations target the period of April last year to March this year.