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The investigation arm of the Commerce Ministry, Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended imposition of provisional antidumping duty (ADD) on low ash metallurgical coke from six countries - Australia, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan and Russia. The duty is aimed at safeguarding domestic players from cheap imports. In its preliminary findings, DGTR has concluded that the product has been exported to India at a price below the normal value, resulting in dumping.

The action came following the application filed by the Indian Metallurgical Coke Manufacturers Association on the behalf of the domestic industry for initiation of an anti-dumping investigation on the imports from these countries. Further, the recommended duty ranges between $73.55 per ton and $130.66 per ton. The final decision of imposition of the ADD will be taken by finance ministry.

Anti-dumping probes are conducted by countries to determine whether domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports. As a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation (WTO). Both India and China are members of multilateral organisations that deal with global trade norms. The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters. India has already imposed ADD on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China.