The Association of Man-made Fibre Industry of India (AMFII) has requested the finance ministry to accept the recommendation of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) to levy anti-dumping duty (ADD) on imports of Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF).
“AMFII urged the government to provide level-playing field to upstream textile industry and ensure that the Indian textiles sector does not become completely dependent on China,” it said in a statement on Tuesday. VSF is used in readymade garments, home and industrial textiles.
The DGTR had, on December 19, recommended levying ADD on imports of the fibre in the wake of large scale dumping at below cost prices by Chinese backed firms. At present, India’s free trade pacts with ASEAN countries allows for the export of VSF to India at zero duty.
AMFII had also indicated to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman that a Chinese backed player has set large VSF plants in Indonesia to flood the Indian market by taking advantage of the India ASEAN FTA.