A government of India announcement said that anti-dumping duties on selected four-wheeler aluminium alloy wheels from China, Korea RP, and Thailand have been extended for another five years. Two domestic companies Synergies Castings and Kosei Minda Aluminum Company filed a petition to extend the duties in order to protect the interest of domestic manufacturers. These two companies share 40.29 per cent of the total alloy wheels production in India.
The government levied anti-dumping duty on imported ARW from China, Korea and Thailand for five years in 2014, which was to expire on April 10.
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A notification from Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) dated March 29 said that the government continues to impose anti-dumping duty ranging from USD 0.08 to USD 2.15 per kg on imported aluminium alloy road wheels (ARWs) of diameters ranging from 12 inches to 24 inches from the three above mentioned countries.
"The authority recommends imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties on the import of the subject goods (ARW), originating in or exported from China PR, Korea RP and Thailand for a period of 5 years," the DGTR notification confirms.
After the implementation of duties, imports of ARW from these countries dropped from 82.06 per cent during base year 2014-2015 to 61.65 per cent during period of investigation ( 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018). This drop made a strong case for continuing with the duties. However, imports of ARW from other countries have doubled from 17.94 per cent to 38.35 per cent during period of investigation. Industry representatives think the 5 years extension will give a chance to produce more locally.
Satya Kacheria, CEO of Neo Wheels said that the extension of duties for five years will give an opportunity to local producers to manufacture more wheels.
He also added that while there were only 4 or 5 local players in this sector in 2014, the number has now increased to nine after the duties, while many are interested to venture into the sector.
Ram Venkataramani from Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) said that move will encourage local manufacturing and generate employment.
Talking about the upcoming opportunities in ARW sector he added: “The demand of alloy wheels will see exponential growth in coming years because of new vehicle technologies.”
According to sources, this sector has seen more than INR 2,500 crore investments and provided employment to more than 6,000 people.
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