Lok Sabha Question No. 2362 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-15
Subject: Imports from China
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Kani K. Navas

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2362 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 th  MARCH,2023

## IMPORTS FROM CHINA

## 2362.   SHRI K. NAVASKANI:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government concurs with the view that if India curbs imports from China by increasing the import duty, it will reduce trade deficit and burden on forex;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  the  initiatives  that  are  proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h ¼Jherh vuqfiz;k iVsy½

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)

(a): India and China are both members of World Trade Organisation (WTO) and import from any WTO  member  can  be  restricted  only  if  these  do  not  conform  to  domestic  laws,  rules,  orders, regulations,  technical  specifications,  environment  and  safety  norms  or  on  grounds  of  general exceptions provided in Article XX of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT).

(b)&(c): Import duties are imposed on the principle of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status and these can be increased or decreased keeping in view the public interest and the concerns of the domestic industry. The import duty for a particular product cannot be increased for a particular WTO member without increasing it across the board for all WTO members unless there is derogation from MFN principle.

Most of the goods imported from China are capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials like Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, auto components, mobile phone parts, etc. which are also used for

making finished  products  which  are  also  exported  out  of  India.  Customs  duty  rates  are  calibrated considering various factors such as demand supply gap, to provide level playing field to domestic industry,  to  encourage  domestic  manufacturing,  availability  of  raw  material/intermediates.  An extensive review is carried out before increasing or decreasing the custom duty and the Government takes appropriate action by way of tariff and non-tariff measures to regulate import of goods to protect human, animal and plant health and uphold national interests.

The  Government  constantly  monitors  imports  and  sensitizes  the  stakeholders  to  reduce  import dependence, including creating/enhancing the domestic capacity, use of trade remedy measures to check  sudden  surge  in  imports,  adoption  of  mandatory  technical  standards  to  check  substandard imports, etc. At the same time, Government on regular basis takes up the issues of pending market access and non-tariff barriers with the concerned authorities in China to boost exports so as to narrow down the trade deficit.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is empowered to recommend imposition of antidumping duty, countervailing duty or quantitative restrictions (QRs) if Indian industry is 'seriously injured' or 'threatened with injury' on account of surge in imports or unfair trade practices.  Currently, 54 anti-dumping measures and 4 countervailing duty measures are in force on Chinese products on account of unfair trade practices.

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