The Modi government has initiated an anti-dumping investigation on synthetic rubber against the US, the UK, Russia, Singapore and Japan following a complaint by a joint venture of Reliance Industries.

The director general of trade remedies has initiated the investigation to look into the allegations of dumping of halo butyl rubber, which is used for tire inner liners, hoses, seals, membranes, tank linings, conveyor belts, protective clothing and for consumer products, such as ball bladders for sporting goods.

It is also used as a barrier layer in vehicle tyres to maintain air pressure without the need for tubes.

The complaint has been filed by Reliance Sibur Elastomers Private Limited — the joint venture between the Indian company, which holds the majority stake, and Russian petrochemical company Sibur. They are the sole producer of the specialised rubber products in the country.

“There is sufficient prima facie evidence of injury being caused to the domestic industry by the dumped imports from the subject countries to justify the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation,” the DGTR said in a notification.

The period of investigation is from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. The DGTR also looked at the data for the three preceding financial years from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

The complaint has claimed that it was not able to find evidence regarding the domestic selling price in the subject countries.

However, for Japan and the US, information about the import price was available, which is the price of goods in the exporting country.

The DGTR said the applicant has provided evidence of normal value on that basis.

In Singapore, the UK and Russia, the volume of imports was too low, or the imports were priced below the cost of production, thereby not being in the ordinary course of trade.