Recently, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) of India announced the initiation of an end-of-term review investigation on countervailing duties imposed on stainless steel welded pipes originating from or imported from China and Vietnam.
The products under review are stainless steel welded pipes falling under HS codes: 7306 40 00, 7306 61 00; 7306 69 00, 7304 11 10, 7304 11 90, 7304 41 00, 7304 51 10, 7304 90 00, 7305 11 29, 7305 90 99, 7306 11 00, 7306 21 00, 7306 29 19, 7306 30 90, 7306 50 00, 7306 90 11, 7306 90 19, 7306 90 90. The HS codes are not limited to the products under review.
Investigation period: April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. For injury determination, the investigation period will also include the three most recent financial years: 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022.
On September 17, 2019, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India issued its final determinations regarding the countervailing investigation on stainless steel pipes originating from China and Vietnam. The imposed duties are effective for a period of five years, expected to end on September 17, 2024.
DGTR determined the existence of subsidies from the governments of Vietnam and China, benefiting the manufacturers/exporters of stainless steel pipes in Vietnam and China, while affecting the competitive landscape and causing harm to Indian domestic producers of similar products.
DGTR decided on countervailing margins for Vietnamese stainless steel pipe manufacturers/exporters ranging from 0% to 11.96% (including 2 companies with a 0% subsidy margin) and for Chinese manufacturers ranging from 21.74% to 29.88%.
According to the provisions of Section 9(6) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and other relevant Indian countervailing laws and international agreements (WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures), after 5 years of application, based on the application filed by the domestic industry, DGTR must conduct an end-of-term review to assess the need for the continuation of the countervailing measures.
If the continuation of the measures is deemed unnecessary to protect the interests of domestic producers, the measures will cease to be in effect and will not be extended. If the investigation results confirm the persistence of subsidy practices, causing adverse effects to the Indian market, the countervailing duties could be extended for up to an additional 5 years until the next review period.
In the upcoming period, stakeholders related to this case are required to submit their views on the end-of-term review investigation to the Indian investigating authority. The opinions need to be submitted within 15 days from the date of the initiation notification, i.e., by September 30, 2023.
The deadline for responding to the investigation questionnaire is 37 days from the date of the initiation notification.
The investigation questionnaire can be accessed on the DGTR's official website at the following link.
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