Trade remedies

Indian Economy glossary

Also called: Trade remedy measures · Topic: International Trade Policy, WTO and Intellectual Property · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Trade remedies are three measures the WTO allows a country to use to protect domestic industry from harmful imports:

  • Anti-dumping duty: against goods sold below normal value (unfair trade). Needs proof of material injury.
  • Countervailing duty (CVD): against goods helped by foreign government subsidies (unfair trade). Needs proof of material injury.
  • Safeguard duty: against a sudden surge of imports, even if fairly traded. Needs proof of serious injury, a higher bar.

In India, DGTR (set up in 2018 under the Commerce Ministry) investigates and recommends, and the Finance Ministry imposes the duty. The legal basis is the Customs Tariff Act: s. 9A (anti-dumping), s. 9 (CVD) and s. 8B (safeguard).

Example

India is among the world's heaviest users of anti-dumping. Most cases target Chinese chemicals, steel, solar inputs and fibres. In 2025, DGTR recommended a 12% provisional safeguard duty on steel.

Don't confuse with

  • Protective tariff: an ordinary tariff can be set at any level up to the bound rate. A trade remedy needs an investigation and proof of injury.

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