Govt Starts Probe Into Dumping Of Spandex Yarn By China, Others

India has started a probe into the alleged dumping of spandex yarn — used in the manufacturing of hosiery, swimsuits, and diapers — from China and three other countries.

The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has initiated the investigation in the imports after Indorama Industries sought imposition of anti-dumping duty on the alleged cheap shipments.
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In a notification, the DGAD said prima facie sufficient evidence of dumping of the product originating or exported from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam exists to justify initiation of the anti-dumping investigation.

"...The Authority (DGAD) hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry... To determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping and to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the 'injury' to the domestic industry," it said.

'Elastomeric Filament Yarn' is commonly referred to as Spandex or Elastane. In common parlance, these yarns are also referred to as 'Lycra' in the market even though it is a specific brand name.

Spandex yarn is mainly used to make garments that require great comfort and fit. It find applications in manufacturing of hosiery, swimsuits, aerobic or exercise wear, ski pants, golf jackets, disposable diaper and waist bands, among others.

Countries initiate an anti-dumping probe to determine whether their domestic industries have been hurt because of surge in cheap import of any product. As a counter measure, they impose duties under the multilateral regime of the 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 resorting to dumping of goods at below-cost rates.

 

Source :business-standard.com

Rupee Trades Lower At 67.82 Against Us Dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday weakened against the US dollar amid caution ahead of key gross domestic product (GDP) data due after 5.30pm.

At 2.07pm, the rupee was trading at 67.82 a dollar, down 0.25% from its previous close of 67.65. The local currency opened and touched a low of 67.87 a dollar.

India’s GDP data for the third quarter (October-December) of 2015-16, to be released on Monday, will be a crucial input into the budget to be presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February.

According to Bloomberg estimates, GVA (gross value added) will be at 7.1% from 7.4% in the September quarter, while GDP will be at 7.1% from 7.4% a quarter ago.

India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, was trading at 24,602.64 points, down 0.06% or 14.33 points. So far this year, the Sensex has lost over 5.8%

Year-to-date, the rupee weakened 2.5%, while foreign portfolio investors sold $1.72 billion from local equities and bought $468.30 million in debt.

The yield on India’s current 10-year benchmark bond stood at 7.829% compared with its Friday’s close of 7.821%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 96.95, down 0.08% from its previous close of 97.031.

Asian shares got off to a rocky start on Monday after mixed US jobs data helped sink shares on the Wall Street, but trade was thin with many regional markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

US non-farm payrolls increased by just 151,000 jobs last month, falling well short of expectations for a rise of 190,000. But the unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, the lowest since February 2008, and wages rose, indicating some signs of underlying strength in the labour market despite the weak headline figure, Reuters reported.

Data released over the weekend showed China’s foreign reserves fell for a third straight month in January, as the central bank dumped dollars to defend the yuan and prevent an increase in capital outflows, the report added.

Source :livemint.com/Money

India-Uae To Ink 16 Pacts; Investment, Oil And It Top Agenda

NEW DELHI: At least 16 pacts in a wide range of sectors like nuclear energy, oil, IT, aerospace and railways, facilitating billions of dollars of investment by UAE in India, are likely to be inked during Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayad Al Nahayan's visit here beginning Wednesday.

Ways to contain radicalism, stepping up counter-terrorism cooperation and dealing with the ISIS will figure prominently in talks Al Nahayan will have with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, UAE Ambassador Ahmed Al Banna said.

A major focus of the three-day visit by the influential UAE leader, which comes around six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to UAE, will be on stepping up economic ties.

Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, has a sovereign wealth fund of about USD 800 billion. India has been eying the fund, parked with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for its infrastructure sector and the envoy said there may be some announcements to this effect during Al Nahayan's visit.

"We have on hand around 16 agreements for cooperation between different ministries and authorities. Out of 16, almost 12 have been finalised and ready for signature. Hopefully all the 16 will be signed," said Al Banna.

The envoy said the agreements will lead to "huge investment portfolio" in diverse areas including renewable energy, oil and gas and some other major sectors.

The pact on nuclear cooperation will provide for peaceful use of atomic energy as research and development in the area. UAE has similar pact with France and some other countries.

India is UAE's number one trading partner and the annual trade currently stands at around USD 60 billion. UAE, a major player in the Gulf region, is a strategically important country for India.

The country is home to around 2.6 million Indians who constitute nearly 30 per cent of its population. It was the sixth largest supplier of crude oil to India in 2014-15.

Al Banna said Modi's visit to his country, after a gap of 34 years by an Indian Prime Minister, has opened a new path in strengthening ties and Al Nahayan's trip will further build on it.

"It (the visit) will reinforce the ongoing relationship and will take us to the next (level) that both sides are looking at which is strategic cooperation, strategic coordination and strategic relationship," the envoy said.

Identifying terrorism as a major threat facing the world, the envoy said both India and UAE are increasing security and counter-terrorism cooperation to deal with the menace.

On the issue of checking radicalism, he said India and UAE will work "hand in hand to fight them. Yes there will be some cooperation on this".

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Sets Floor Price For Steel Imports To Stem Flow From China

India set a floor price for imports of steel products to deter countries such as China from undercutting local mills, the first time it has taken such a step in over 15 years even as the country remains the world’s only major growing steel market.

Top Indian steel makers such as JSW Steel, Tata Steel Ltd, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd and Kalyani Steels have been lobbying the government to take more steps to protect their margins after a hike in the import duty last year failed to cut shipments from China.

“The implementation of the minimum import price will give stability to the local steel industry,” Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said. “This is an important step towards the success of ‘Make in India’ (manufacturing push).”

The duty on various steel products ranges between $341 per tonne and $752 a tonne, the government said in a statement.(bit.ly/1ocN9Lk)

Indian steel companies, shares in many of whom rose on Friday in anticipation of the measure, welcomed the move but said more needs to be done, such as raising the import duty further to 25 percent.

“This measure will ensure a level playing field to Indian steel industry which has been adversely affected by dumped imports from various sources,” Shivaramkrishnan, chief commercial officer of Essar Steel India, told Reuters.

“We are thankful to the government of India and hope this will suitably address the concern of surging cheap imports.”

India is the third largest steel producer in the world with a total installed capacity of 110 million tonnes. But the industry says it has seen a hefty squeeze in margins due to an onslaught of cheap imports from China, as well as Russia, Japan and South Korea.

Imports of steel surged by 22.8 percent in December 2015 over the previous month and the country’s trade minister had called the recent fall in China’s yuan a “worrying development” that could have pushed up inbound shipments further.

China produces nearly half the world’s 1.6 billion tonnes of steel, and exported more than 100 million tonnes of the alloy last year, more than four times the 2014 shipments from the European Union’s largest producer, Germany.

The floor price on steel imports will be valid for six months.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal, Krishna N. Das and Promit Mukherjee, editing by David Evans)

 

Source :.hellenicshippingnews.com