India’s chemical and petrochemical industry has entered 2025 with a larger scale and a more complex trade environment. According to IBEF’s October 2025 update, the sector was valued at about US$250 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$300 billion by 2028, with demand expected to move towards US$1 trillion by 2040. Within this growth story, anti-dumping duties are no longer a peripheral issue. They are now an important factor in how Indian manufacturers think about cost competitiveness and margins.
The 2025 Trade Picture for Chemicals
The latest IBEF data on FY26 (April to July 2025) shows how trade flows set the context for anti-dumping actions.
⦿ Exports of organic chemicals during April to July 2025 stood at about US$2.75 billion, while imports were around US$5.30 billion.
⦿ For inorganic chemicals, exports were roughly US$0.73 billion, versus imports of about US$2.23 billion in the same period.
⦿ Agrochemical exports during April to July 2025 were about US$1.43 billion, compared to imports of around US$0.80 billion.
India is a net importer in the chemical sector. For FY26 (Apr-Jul 2025), the total chemical imports stood at ~Rs. 67,000 crore vs exports ~Rs. 42,000 crore. This trade deficit of ~Rs. 25,000 crore in just 4 months highlights why anti-dumping duties directly impact India's forex position and working capital requirements.
These numbers underline a structural reality I see in many balance sheets. India is a serious exporter in several value-added segments, yet remains a net importer in key intermediates and feedstocks. That is exactly where anti-dumping duties start to reshape landed costs and margin structures.
How Anti-Dumping Actions Are Evolving in 2025
On the policy side, there has been continued activity. In April 2025, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies initiated an anti-dumping investigation on imports of ethylene diamine from China, the European Union, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan under section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act. This is one example of how new investigations are now targeting specific intermediates that are critical for downstream specialty and performance chemicals.
At the same time, the latest IBEF update notes that the government is tightening BIS-style quality certification for imported chemicals to curb the inflow of cheap and substandard products. This complements duties by raising the compliance bar on imports rather than relying only on price-based measures.
Budget allocations also signal policy intent. Under the Union Budget 2025–26, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers received an outlay of about Rs. 1.62 lakh crore. Taken together with potential production-linked incentive discussions for the sector, this suggests a clear push to anchor more of the value chain in India while using trade remedies to manage unfair pricing.
Examples of Anti-Dumping Duties Currently in Force (2024–25)
In addition to the 2025 investigation on ethylene diamine, a number of anti-dumping duties remain active across key chemical intermediates and polymers. For instance, duties continue on sodium nitrite imported from China, methylene chloride from the EU, and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) from South Korea and the EU—each of which directly influences pricing for dyes, pharmaceuticals, and tyre manufacturing, respectively.
The Directorate General of Trade Remedies has also maintained duties on maleic anhydride from China and PVC resin from multiple countries, both vital feedstocks for construction materials, cables, and packaging. These actions illustrate how India’s trade-remedy framework is increasingly targeting upstream products that have a cascading effect on multiple downstream industries.
Long-Term Implications for Industries Beyond Chemicals
The ripple effects of anti-dumping actions extend well beyond the chemical sector. In automotive and auto components, sustained duties on synthetic rubber and key polymers influence input costs for tyres, gaskets, and EV components, shaping localisation strategies.
In textiles, duties on certain dye intermediates alter the cost structure of processing clusters, increasing the incentive to modernise and vertically integrate. Renewable-energy equipment manufacturers also feel the impact where duties on epoxy resins or composite inputs affect the cost of wind blades and electrical components.
Over the long term, consistent and transparent anti-dumping enforcement could accelerate domestic capability building in these sectors, but it may also push industries to rethink inventory planning, supplier diversification, and technology adoption to manage cost volatility and preserve competitiveness.
A line that often guides my own thinking is this. Fair prices support industry survival. Predictable rules support investment. Anti-dumping duties and quality controls are most effective when they are transparent, data-driven and time-bound.
As of late 2025, anti-dumping duties are clearly influencing India’s chemical cost structure. Recent trade data shows a sector that is growing, exporting more, yet still importing critical intermediates in large volumes. In this environment, duty actions and quality norms are reshaping the balance between protection and competitiveness.
I believe the most resilient chemical businesses will be those that treat trade remedies as part of their core financial model. That means building scenarios, reassessing sourcing, and aligning capital expenditure with an honest view of how duties, compliance costs and global price cycles interact. Done well, this can convert policy complexity into a more stable margin profile for Indian manufacturing in the years ahead.
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