India halts RI gypsum probe

JAKARTA: India has terminated its anti-dumping investigation into Indonesian gypsum plasterboard.

Following the move, Indonesian gypsum plasterboard may now enter the Indian market without any anti-dumping duty or any other barrier, Director General of International Trade and Industrial Cooperation at the Ministry of Industry and Trade Pos M. Hutabarat said in a statement on Thursday.

On Aug. 1, India's directorate general of anti-dumping (DGAD) told the ministry they had been investigating the boards based on a petition from M/s. India Gypsum Ltd.

The firm particularly complained about the importation of boards 6 millimeters (mm) to 16 mm thick, 600 mm to 1,250 mm wide and 1,800 mm to 3,200 mm long.

This kind of board is used mostly for partitioning purposes and interiors, as well as fireproofing and environmentally friendly decoration.

During the investigation, Pos said, the DGAD discovered that the petitioner had imported similar products from an overseas affiliate. As such, the petitioner could not be categorized as a "local firm that has suffered losses caused by gypsum plasterboard imports from Indonesia." -- JP