Probe against cheap Chinese products: Chinese media says India surpasses US in protectionism

Weeks after the Indian government launched an anti-dumping probe against the import of photovoltaics cells from China, the state-run Global Times has accused New Delhi of protectionism saying the list of Chinese products covered by India's trade-remedy investigations is getting longer.

It said that if India curbs the imports of certain products from China, its market back home will be affected.

Earlier in July, the Ministry of Commerce ordered an anti-dumping investigation against the import of photovoltaic cells from China, Taiwan and Malaysia. The move was taken after the Indian Solar Manufacturers' Association filed a complaint against cheaper Chinese photovoltaic cells.

However, India's decision to launch a probe to save the domestic market did not go well with Chinese authority. China's head of the Ministry of Commerce trade remedy and investigation bureau Wang Hejun said that India should avoid "abusing" trade remedy measures and it should conduct the probe in a prudent manner.

The state-run paper accused India of initiating 12 investigations against Chinese products in the first half of this year. The Global Times said that with its latest investigation, India surpassed the Unites States that launched 11 investigations against China. It further said that it is wrong for India to resort to trade remedy measures to drive Chinese products out of the local market.
 
It said: "With the support of China's high-quality PV products, India's solar-power generating capacity surged 3.7 times over the past three years. If India imposes anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese PV products, the growth of the country's own fast-growing PV market may slow."

It further said that India's effort to protect domestic industries through trade remedy measures offers short-term benefits which will eventually hinder India's industrial development.