4 months ago
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Cheap copper imports nether aggregate escaped commercialized agreements (FTAs) are "severely damaging" India’s home manufacturing system, the Indian Primary Copper Producers Association (IPCPA) said, urging the authorities to measurement successful with safeguard duties and quantitative restrictions.The manufacture assemblage said a surge successful zero-duty copper imports is eroding India’s smelting and downstream manufacturing base, adjacent arsenic much than Rs 20,000 crore has been invested successful caller years to physique home self-sufficiency. "Zero-duty imports from FTA partners are severely damaging Indian smelting and refining," the IPCPA said. Calling for a 3% safeguard work connected prime copper imports, careless of FTA status, the relation stated, "the copper manufacture seeks urgent authorities involution to code FTA-related issues through...
imposing an further 3 per cent work connected imports of (copper cathode, rod, ligament and tube), implementing quantitative restrictions connected imports to safeguard the home copper industry."The relation flagged concerns implicit the India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), nether which customs duties connected copper ligament rods person fallen to 1% successful FY26 and are acceptable to beryllium afloat eliminated by FY27.
It said the occupation has been aggravated by an inflated tariff complaint quota (TRQ) of 85,000 tonnes per annum (KTPA), acold supra the intended 29 KTPA. This, according to IPCPA, led to a 340% surge successful copper imports from the UAE betwixt FY22 and FY26. The radical demanded that the TRQ beryllium corrected and capped astatine its archetypal level. The TRQ mechanics allows a specified quantity of imports astatine reduced oregon zero duty.The IPCPA besides raised issues with the India–ASEAN CEPA, which includes a cumulative value-addition rule.
This proviso allows Indonesian copper cathodes, aft important processing successful Indonesia, to acquisition minimal further attraction successful countries specified arsenic Thailand, Malaysia oregon Vietnam earlier entering India duty-free. Between 2020 and 2024, this resulted successful a 66% emergence successful copper ligament imports and a 103% leap successful copper conduit imports, PTI reported.At the aforesaid time, Indonesia has importantly expanded its smelting capacity, strengthening its export position.
Chinese investments successful ASEAN copper operations person further distorted competition, prompting Indian producers to request that copper wires, tubes and foils beryllium added to the exclusion database arsenic portion of the ongoing FTA review.The IPCPA said the planetary copper smelting manufacture is nether terrible stress, with 1 of its cardinal gross streams — Treatment and Refining Charges (TC/RC), having collapsed by astir 80% . For 2026, TC/RC levels are projected to autumn to zero, threatening the viability of smelting and refining operations successful India.This unit is being compounded by zero-duty imports of copper cathodes, rods, wires and tubes from the UAE, ASEAN and Japan nether assorted FTAs, which are displacing home output, they added.
