New Delhi, May 29
Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was visiting Tokyo, China announced its decision to levy provisional anti-dumping duties on pyridine, imported both from India and Japan.

The measure, which came into effect yesterday, has come at a time when India is seeking market easy access for its pharmaceuticals and IT-enabled services to the Chinese market.

Pyridine is an organic compound used as an important raw material and solvent in the production of pesticides, drugs, animal feed, food additives and other chemicals. The import origins of pyridine are mainly concentrated in India, the US, Taiwan, Japan and Russia. India is said to be its largest exporter.

Beijing says that under a preliminary investigation being conducted since September last year, it had found that Indian producers had sold pyridine in China at dumping margins ranging from 24.6 per cent to 57.4 per cent, and Japanese producers sold the product at a 47.9 per cent dumping margin. The investigation had also examined whether and to what extent such imports had hurt the Chinese pyridine industry.

Chinese entities importing pyridine from India and Japan will now be required to pay deposits with Chinese customs calculated according to the dumping margins.

The latest step by Beijing has come apparently in retaliation for India launching an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese solar energy products.

Informed sources here said China’s decision is likely to hit Indian exports of pyridine. It has come just days after Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang pledged to prevent protectionism and promote an open market system.

India is expected to raise the issue with Beijing at the strategic economic dialogue to be held shortly between the two countries.