India has opened an anti-dumping investigation into aluminium extrusion imports from China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, after domestic manufacturers said a surge of cheap imports was hurting their businesses.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), the commerce ministry's investigation arm, said it had started the inquiry on its own motion in a notification dated 9 November. The move was reported on 10 November.

What the probe covers

The investigation covers aluminium extrusion profiles, structures and articles, including alloyed and non-alloyed profiles, bars, rods, tubes and pipes, along with specified finished and fabricated extrusion products. Wire rods are expressly excluded from the bars-and-rods scope.

These products are used across a wide range of industries. They go into windows, doors, curtain walls, partitions and railings, as well as lighting profiles, industrial framing, solar mounting structures, ladders, furniture, kitchen and wardrobe profiles, and bicycle parts.

Why the inquiry was opened

The DGTR said it acted after representations from the Aluminium Extrusion Manufacturers Association of India (ALEMAI), which represents 228 manufacturers. The directorate said it was satisfied, on the basis of the information supplied by the association and its member producers, that there was a case to investigate.

The stated aim is to guard domestic producers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, against cheap imports. The investigation will determine whether dumping exists, how far it goes, and what effect it has had on the domestic industry.

No duty has been imposed yet

The opening of the probe does not impose any new duty and makes no final finding. If the investigation establishes that dumping has caused material injury to domestic producers, the DGTR would recommend an anti-dumping duty that, in its view, would adequately remove that injury. The finance ministry would take the final decision on whether to impose any duty.

The investigation period runs from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2026, while the assessment of injury to the domestic industry also covers the financial years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. Interested parties have 15 days from transmission of the intimation letter to submit views on the product scope and the product control numbers used to compare products.

Part of a wider trade-remedy push

India has already imposed anti-dumping duties on several products to tackle cheap imports, including goods from China. Anti-dumping investigations are a standard trade remedy used by countries to establish whether domestic industries have been hurt by a surge in imports sold below their normal value.

The four countries named in this inquiry are all significant suppliers of aluminium products to India, and the outcome will be watched closely by manufacturers, importers and downstream users in construction, transport and renewable energy.