Go Swadeshi to cut China imports: Panel

In a bid to tackle the deluge of Chinese imports, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has made a strong case for taking aggressive and pro-active steps, following the example set by the United States and the European Union. The committee has also emphasised the need for monitoring, surveillance and enforcement of the trade remedies.

It observed that Chinese textile products were preferred over Indian ones due to their lower price tag. In order to ensure domestic demand for Indian products, the committee has suggested that 'Make in India' be conjoined with the 'Swadeshi Apnao' concept.

Labour intensive pharmaceuticals, textile, toy, bicycle and firecracker industries and the fast-growing solar sector have been hit the most by burgeoning Chinese imports. As is the stainless steel industry, where a number of MSMEs have had to close down, particularly manufacturers of stainless steel grades of the 200 series.

Despite a ban on Chinese toys since January 2009, the Indian toy market has been assailed by low-quality toxic toys from the China. The committee has called upon the Centre to quicken the process of issuing quality control order for toys.

The pharmaceutical industry, which faces challenges of access and affordability with development and sustainability, continues to depend on bulk drug import from China which has increased prices by 1,200 per cent in the last two years. The committee suggests that the industry will have to be revived through assured protection against dumping, incentivizing the Research and Development (R&D) process, regular examination of price trends of imported Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and price incentive for indigenous APIUs.

The firecracker industry has also been hit by a glut of cheap illegal firecrackers from the industrial neighbour. The committee wants the Directorate General of Foreign Trade to prohibit import of hazardous Chinese firecrackers rather than merely putting them on the restricted list. Further, the committee has recommended that the Centre review the GST structure for the industry and lower it from the existing 18 per cent.

Amidst the Centre's push for bicycles, the committee has expressed concern over entry of high-level, under-invoiced Chinese bicycles due to lax enforcement. The committee has suggested that the Centre conduct regular search-and-seizure at points of import and carry out detailed analysis of customs data to unravel the modus operandi of the unscrupulous importers and curb entry of under-valued Chinese bicycles.

The solar industry faces the challenge of dumping of solar modules and cells at lower prices. The committee has recommended capital subsidy to eligible manufacturers to reduce cost of plant and equipment to make Indian manufacturing globally competitive.