"With these anti-dumping duties' imposition canceled, market access for viscose staple fiber products will be expanded much more. This export opportunity needs to be taken advantage of by national producers and exporters," the minister informed in a written statement released on Thursday.
The decision has been listed in the Semi-Annual Report of the World Trade Organization, issued by the Indian government on April 19, 2023, he added.
It overrules recommendations issued by the Indian Directorate General of Trade Remedies on December 19, 2022, the minister said.
Hence, Indonesian exporters will no longer face anti-dumping duties of US$0.103–0.512 per kilogram, he added.
Director General of Foreign Trade at the ministry, Budi Santoso, said that they must be grateful for the decision.
"VSF is one (of the) national textile products with significant export value to India. This revocation (of policy) is good news for Indonesian exporters (so they can) maintain and improve the export value of this product to India," Santoso added.
This case of VSF in India began on March 19, 2009, when the Indian Directorate General of Trade Remedies initiated an investigation into VSF anti-dumping, coded HS 5504.10.00, from China and Indonesia, he said.
The investigation into the second extension of the duties in 2021 resulted in the revocation of the extended duties policy on July 31, 2021, Santoso said.
However, the Indian domestic industry responded to the decision by filing an appeal with the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), and the tribunal ended up overruling the revocation, he stated.
He said the success is the result of great cooperation from all stakeholders, those being the Indonesian government, associates, and exporters who were accused.
"Now that there is this revocation (of the duties), we expect national exporters or producers of VSF to boost exports to India," said Natan Kambuno, Director of Trade Security at the ministry.
VSF is a natural fiber often found in daily products such as textiles, wet tissues, and other self-care products. Indonesian VSF products have a large share of the market in India.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia, national VSF exports to India reached their highest value of US$110 million in 2022.
In the January-February 2023 period, the value of the exports was recorded at US$11.05 million, an increase of 32.18 percent compared to US$8 million in the same period of the previous year.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia G P, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Anton Santoso
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