India initiates Anti-dumping Investigations against Ursodeoxycholic Acid from China and Korea

By Nikhita Pais, International Trade Law Associate

On Thursday, January 27, 2022, the Indian Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiated an investigation against the alleged dumping of Ursodeoxycholic Acid (Ursodiol/ UDCA) imported from the China PR and Korea RP1. The applicant, Arch Pharmalabs Ltd., alleges dumping practices of UDCA imports from China and Korea. The product being investigated is classified under tariff codes 29181690 and 29181990, and the applicant claims that the product imported into India is identical to the product manufactured by India’s domestic industry.

UDCA is a product used as medical therapy in gallstone disease and for biliary sludge. It may be given after bariatric surgery to prevent cholelithiasis. UDCA is also used as a therapy in primary biliary cholangitis where it can produce an improvement in biomarkers, and also used to treat primary sclerosing cholangitis, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, bile reflux gastritis, etc.

Given the Chinese non-market economy status, the applicant has proposed that the normal value for China be taken based on the European Union prices. The period of investigation for the determination of dumping is October 2020 to September 2021 and the periods of investigation for the injury determination are Oct 2018 to September 21.

An anti-dumping investigation is initiated to check if the domestic industry is hurt due to the import of products at prices below the normal value level. In the event it is found that there is an injury to the domestic industry, duties are imposed in accordance with the multilateral regime of the World Trade Organization to offset said practices. The imposition of the anti-dumping duty seeks to ensure that there are fair trade practices being followed in addition to creating a level-playing field for both the domestic producers and the foreign exporters and producers.

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