India imposes anti-dumping duty on five Chinese products
New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI): India has imposed anti-dumping duty on five Chinese goods, including vacuum flasks and aluminium foil, during the month so far to guard domestic players from cheap imports from the neighbouring country.
These duties were imposed as these products -- Soft Ferrite Cores, certain thickness of vacuum insulated flask, aluminium foil, Trichloro Isocyanuric Acid, and Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin -- were exported to India from China at below normal prices.
In separate notifications, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Department of Revenue, said that the duty imposed "shall be levied for a period of five years" on imports of Soft Ferrite Cores, vacuum insulated flask, and Trichloro Isocyanuric Acid.
The anti-dumping duty of up to USD 873 per tonne was imposed provisionally on aluminium foil for six months.
The government has imposed the duty in the range of USD 276 per tonne to USD 986 per tonne on imports of the acid (a water treatment chemical) from China and Japan.
On imports of Soft Ferrite Cores (used in electric vehicles, chargers, and telecom devices), up to 35 per cent duty was imposed on CIF (cost, insurance freight) value.
Similarly on vacuum insulated flask, USD 1,732 per tonne anti-dumping duty was levied. The levy, which ranges from USD USD 89 per tonne to USD 707 per tonne, on Poly Vinyl Chloride Paste Resin was slapped on the imports from China, Korea RP, Malaysia, Norway, Taiwan and Thailand for five years.
These duties are imposed after recommendations for the same were made by the commerce ministry's investigation arm DGTR (directorate general of trade remedies).
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 Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO). 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 earlier already imposed anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China.
India and China both are members of the WTO. China is the second largest trading partner of India. The country has time and again flagged serious concerns over the widening trade deficit with the neighbouring country, which stood at USD 85 billion in 2023-24.
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Police use force to break up protests at university in Turkiye's capital
Istanbul (AP): Police used pepper spray, rubber bullets and water cannons against protesters in Turkiye's capital early Thursday, potentially reigniting tensions after two days of relative calm in the country's biggest anti-government protests in over a decade.
The demonstrations began last week following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu, jailed on corruption charges many see as politically motivated, is also accused of supporting terrorism. The government insists the judiciary is independent, but critics say the evidence is based on secret witnesses and lacks credibility.
Early Thursday, student demonstrators tried to march and gathered to read a statement near the gates at Middle East Technical University, pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV and local media reported. They were met by security forces who deployed pepper spray, water cannons and rubber bullets. A standoff ensued where the students hid behind a barricade made out of trash cans until the police charged to detain the protesters.
Melih Meric, a legislator with the Republican People's Party or CHP, was seen soaked with water and suffering from pepper spray exposure. “My student friends only wanted to make a press statement, but the police strictly did not allow it, this is the result," Meric was seen saying on social media videos.
Officials have not said how many people were detained.
Ozgur Ozel, the leader of CHP to which Imamoglu belongs, had promised lawmakers would stand alongside protesters in hopes of lowering tensions. He also warned that if the police provoked demonstrators after he delivered a speech Tuesday, he would “make a call for 500,000 people to (come to) the place that will disturb” Erdogan the most.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has said Wednesday that 1,418 people have been detained in the past week over the protests.
Demonstrations have swept across major cities, hundreds of thousands showed up for the protests and CHP rallies outside the Istanbul city hall. A historic aqueduct near the city hall became a daily spot of standoffs between the police and demonstrators that ended with the police charging with pepper sprays, rubber bullets and detentions at the end of the day.
Other major protests were held in the districts of Kadikoy and Sisli, where a government trustee was appointed after the arrest of its mayor last week, on Tuesday and Wednesday as thousands of protesters marched through the neighbourhoods as residents leaned from windows and balconies, clapping and banging pots and pans in support.
Erdogan has accused the opposition of “sinking the economy” and said those responsible for hurting financial stability would be held “accountable."
The opposition has called for a boycott of companies that it says support Erdogan's government. The Turkish president accused the opposition of being “so desperate that they would throw the country and the nation into the fire.”
Meanwhile, Imamoglu, speaking from prison via social media, denounced police violence against protesters, “I cannot call them police because my honourable police would not commit this cruelty to the young children of the nation,” he said.
Turkiye is not due for another election until 2028, but it's possible that Erdogan will call for an early vote to seek another term.
Imamoglu has been confirmed as the candidate for the CHP and has performed well in recent polls against Erdogan. His election as mayor of Turkiye's largest city in 2019 was a major blow to Erdogan and his party.
