The Indian government has started an anti-dumping investigation into imports of straight length bars and rods of alloy steel from China, after complaints from the domestic industry, PTI reported.

Six Indian companies had submitted an application to the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties, asking for the inquiry and the imposition of an anti-dumping
duty on steel items that China exports.

Dumping is when a company exports a product at a price lower than it would charge in its own home market. To protect industries, a government can impose an anti-dumping duty on foreign imports it believes are priced below the fair market value. These steel products are used in crucial sectors such as automobiles, cement, power plants, turbines, ship-building, railways and construction machinery.

The government anti-dumping body has said it has “sufficient evidence” of China dumping steel products. “The authority hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry,” the directorate said in a notification. It will look at whether dumping is taking place and its effects and recommend an anti-dumping duty.

In August 2017, the government extended the anti-dumping duty on chemical compound polytetraflouroethylene, which is manufactured in China, by five years, after a review found that “there is continued dumping of the product”.