India–EU Free Trade Agreement Includes Provision for Reduced Anti-Dumping Duties

India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Details

The India-EU FTA includes provisions for lesser duty rules, which dictate that anti-dumping or countervailing duties should be applied only to the extent necessary to remove injury to domestic industry. According to the draft agreement, a lesser duty should be applied where such duty would be adequate to remove injury to the domestic industry.

The Trade Remedies chapter of the agreement outlines the rules for applying trade remedies, including anti-dumping and countervailing duties. The agreement also includes public interest safeguards, which prevent authorities from applying trade remedies if doing so does not benefit the public, considering domestic industry, importers, users, and consumer groups.

The FTA preserves global safeguard rights under WTO rules, including Article XIX of GATT 1994 and WTO safeguard and agriculture agreements. Under the FTA's global safeguard provisions, any country among the five largest suppliers of a product over the past three years is considered to have a substantial interest. These suppliers must be notified and given a chance to consult before safeguard measures are applied.

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Bilateral safeguard measures, such as suspending further tariff reductions or increasing customs duties, are also permitted under the FTA. However, these measures must be strictly within duration limits and cannot overlap with WTO safeguard measures for the same product. Provisional safeguards may be applied for up to 200 days, with tariffs refunded if investigations find they are not justified.

Safeguard investigations must follow clear procedural rules, including public notification, hearings, and consideration of all relevant evidence. Authorities must also document the causal link between imports and injury while protecting confidential information.