Fin Min say no anti-dumping duty Black Carbon

Fin Min say no anti-dumping duty Black Carbon

Context: Finance Ministry has turned down DGTR recommendation to continue the anti-dumping duty of black carbon from China.

Concept:

Black Carbon:

Carbon black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products such as FCC tar, coal tar, or ethylene cracking tar.

• Carbon black is a form of paracrystalline carbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, albeit lower than that of activated carbon.
• It is dissimilar to soot in its much higher surface-area-to-volume ratio and significantly lower (negligible and non-bioavailable) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. However, carbon black is widely used as a model compound for diesel soot for diesel oxidation experiments.

Application:

Carbon black is mainly used as a reinforcing filler in tires and other rubber products.

 In plastics, paints, and inks, carbon black is used as a color pigment 

Why Black carbon is used in tyres?

Rubber in its ‘natural’ state is white, soft and has poor resistance to abrasion.

Use of black carbon significantly increases the stiffness, tensile strength and abrasion resistance of rubber compounds. So carbon black is critical to the strength, handling, wear and durability of any rubber tyre

Anti-Dumping:

• An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.
• Dumping is a process where a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges in its own home market.
• The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.
• The duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as Directorate General of Trade Remedies, in India.
• The imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime.