India recommends anti-dumping duty on PET film imports from Bangladesh
With PET film now facing the proposed tariffs, the number of Bangladeshi export products subject to such trade measures in India stands at five.
India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the Commerce Ministry, has recommended anti-dumping duties of up to $218 per tonne on imports of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) film from Bangladesh for five years.
The recommendation comes days after India imposed anti-dumping duties of up to $445 per tonne on Bangladeshi jute products and proposed separate countervailing duties of up to $140.04 per tonne on jute.
PET film is widely used in flexible packaging for food, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods, as well as in electrical and industrial applications. The recommended duties can take effect only after India's Finance Ministry issues a notification.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
With PET film now facing the proposed tariffs, the number of Bangladeshi export products subject to such trade measures in India stands at five.
According to DGTR findings, Bangladesh's PET film shipments to India rose from 12 tonnes in fiscal year 2021-22 to 2,763 tonnes in the fiscal 2024-25, accounting for nearly 3.4% of India's PET film imports. China supplied 26,086 tonnes, while Thailand supplied 12,870 tonnes during the period.
In its final findings dated 29 September, DGTR proposed a duty of $218 per tonne on PET film exported by most Bangladeshi firms. Chinese producers face duties ranging from $54 to $361 per tonne, depending on whether they cooperated with the investigation, while Thai exporters face duties ranging from $198 to $366 per tonne.
The trade remedies authority found that dumped imports from the three countries undercut Indian producers' prices and caused material injury to the domestic industry.
DGTR set a lower duty of $58 per tonne for Bangladeshi company Akij Biax Films Limited, a concern of AkijBashir Group and the only Bangladeshi entity to cooperate with the probe. The authority declined to adjust Akij's export price for export incentives, saying the claim was not linked to the product shipped to India.
DGTR also examined the impact of the proposed duty on India's downstream industries and consumers, concluding that PET film accounts for only a small share of the cost of packaged products. It estimated that the highest recommended duty would add around five paise, or 0.2%, to the price of a packet of chips and concluded that the measure would not create supply restrictions or a monopoly.
The immediate market impact will depend on the Indian government's decision on the recommendation and its subsequent implementation. Differences in producer-specific duty rates could prompt Indian buyers to reassess sourcing from the three exporting countries and alternative origins, while relatively high residual rates could put greater pressure on non-cooperating exporters.
The investigation also highlighted structural risks from rising overseas capacity and global PET film oversupply, which DGTR identified as factors supporting its recommendation.
The probe followed a complaint by Indian PET manufacturers Chiripal Poly Films, Ester Industries and Vacmet India and began on 30 September 2025.
It initially covered Bangladesh, China, Thailand and the United States, but the US was dropped at the preliminary stage after the domestic industry withdrew its complaint.
The investigation examined imports from April 2024 to March 2025, while the dumping and injury assessment covered the period from 2021-22 to the end of that period.
