Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu (Former Member of Parliament and critical figure in India’s textile and weaving industry) and a delegate of MPs urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to act against the recent DGTR (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) recommendation of imposing anti-dumping duty (ADD) on Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF).
Various MPs and politicians, including P.R. Natarajan (Tamil Nadu), M. Shanmugam (Tamil Nadu), Neeraj Shekhar and Javed Ali Khan (UP), Md. Nadimul Haque (West Bengal), Dr. Amee Yajnik (Gujarat), Jose K Mani (Kerala), K.R. Suresh Reddy (Telangana), Saumitra Khan (Bishnupur), G. K. Vasan (President, Tamil Maanila Congress, Tamil Nadu, Ex-MP), and Pradeep Gandhi (Chhattisgarh), along with Rapolu signed a resolution letter elucidating the impact of ADD on Indian weaving and textile units. The letter was also shared with the relevant ministers and the Prime Minister.
In a statement, Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu said that India’s viscose value chain is facing a deficit since the domestic supply cannot fulfil the demand. Here, imports have become a source of relief for the downstream industry to procure quality raw materials at competitive prices, especially when cotton prices were surging.
However, with the re-imposition of the ADD on VSF, the entire value chain can be in a dire state as the imported fibre will cost 28 per cent more. This will significantly impact many Indian weavers and spinners who rely on viscose yarn production as their source of livelihood.
He further added that ADD will obstruct the Indian textile industry’s future. It is time we think of how to ensure safeguards and provide a level playing field in the industry.
