MMF sector seeks anti-dumping duty on Chinese fabrics

Reeling under the impact of cheap Chinese fabrics, Surat’s textile manufacturers have urged the central government to act against under-invoicing of fabrics imported from China.

Various textile trade associations submitted memorandums to Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding safeguard duty against import of cheap Chinese fabrics. Sitharaman was in Surat to propagate two years of achievements of the Modi government at the Centre, was invited to meet the textile industrialists and traders on Friday.

She asked the textile industrialists in the country's biggest man-made fabric (MMF) industry to furnish relevant data on Chinese fabric being imported into the country for the central government to initiate appropriate action.

“We can't impose safeguard duty on Chinese fabrics overnight. The government will have to face many questions in the WTO. However, I suggest the trade to come up with relevant data on Chinese fabric imports and its onslaught on the textile sector," Sitharaman told the textile entrepreneurs.

Textile manufacturers in Surat insist that if the government doesn’t act fast, it would spell doom for the industry.

"The industry is running at 50 per cent capacity. Over 2.5 lakh workers are jobless and over 4 lakh powerloom machines closed. This is all due to under-invoicing of fabrics imported from China. Government must act, otherwise the industry is on the verge of closure,” said Dhirubhai Shah, managing director of Fairdeal Filaments Limited, underlining the Chinese threat.

Earlier this month, the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) had written to Union Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar demanding that the government slap anti-dumping duty on fabrics imported from China and other countries to save India's domestic man-made fabric (MMF) sector.