In a significant move to safeguard its domestic manufacturing sector, India has imposed five-year anti-dumping duties on imports of Vitamin-A Palmitate and Insoluble Sulphur. The levies target China, the European Union, Japan, and Switzerland, following investigations that revealed these vital chemicals were being "dumped" into the Indian market at unfairly low prices, causing significant injury to local producers.

The decision, announced late last Friday through a finance ministry notification, is effective immediately. It follows recommendations from the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which concluded that both Vitamin-A Palmitate and Insoluble Sulphur were being exported to India at prices below their normal value or production cost, thereby undercutting Indian manufacturers and harming their profitability.

Vitamin-A Palmitate, a crucial ingredient in pharmaceuticals, fortified foods, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics, has been a particular focus. The DGTR's probe explicitly found "material injury" to Indian manufacturers due to large-scale dumping.

The newly imposed duties on Vitamin-A Palmitate vary depending on the country and exporter, ranging from $0.87 to $20.87 per kilogram. Chinese exporters, excluding Shangyu NHU BioChem Co. Ltd. (which faces $14.95/kg), will be subject to the highest duty of $20.87/kg. Swiss producer DSM Nutritional Products Ltd will incur $0.87/kg, while other Swiss exporters face $8.2/kg. A flat rate of $11.09/kg will apply to imports from the European Union. Importantly, Vitamin-A Palmitate used for animal feed (1.6 MIU/Gm strength) is exempt.

In parallel, India has also imposed anti-dumping duties on Insoluble Sulphur imports from China and Japan. This compound is critical for the tyre manufacturing industry, playing a vital role in rubber vulcanization. The DGTR's investigation revealed that exporters from both China and Japan were similarly dumping this chemical at artificially low prices, eroding the profitability of Indian producers.

For Insoluble Sulphur, a flat rate of $307 per metric tonne has been imposed on imports from China. For Japan, the duties are tiered: Shikoku Chemicals will face $259 per metric tonne, while all other Japanese exporters will incur $358 per metric tonne.

These anti-dumping measures underscore India's increasingly proactive approach to trade defense. Legal experts, such as Manish Kr Shubhay, view this as a clear signal of India's commitment to leveraging WTO-compliant instruments to protect its domestic industries in a realigning global supply chain environment. The duties, which will be collected in Indian rupees, are expected to foster a stronger, more self-reliant manufacturing base within the country.