RPT-India to put safeguard duty on China aluminium imports

NEW DELHI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - India will impose safeguard duties on Chinese aluminium imports and is probing shipments of other goods, a top official said, days after China said such moves may severely damage trade ties between the Asian giants. Trade Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters India was concerned about the sharp rise in imports from China and was investigating several goods being shipped from China. "A lot of items have come. We are already in discussion with the Chinese to tell them 'look, we don't mind your exporting to India ... but you can't export to an extent, which can kill my domestic industry'," he said on the sidelines of a conference. Last month, India slapped a six-month ban on Chinese toys, and state media said that China may ask the World Trade Organisation to investigate the move. Pillai said the safeguard duty on aluminium from China would be imposed in one or two weeks. "We have already investigated. Safeguard duty will be imposed," he said. Pillai did not say how much aluminium India had imported but Indian newspapers have reported that import of aluminium products from China more than doubled to $252.89 million in 2007/08, while in the first quarter of the current fiscal yPillai said he was worried about China dumping its surplus goods in the Indian market. "China is a non-market economy. They have created huge capacities in their country... Where are they going to sell their products ? They are going to dump it in India," he said. Last week, Trade Minister Kamal Nath said India was ready to hold talks with Beijing over its ban on import of Chinese toys. Earlier this month, China's Commerce Ministry said India had launched 17 probes of Chinese-made products since October and cautioned New Delhi that such moves would have a serious impact on bilateral economic and trade ties. China ran an $11.2 billion trade surplus with India in 2008, according to Chinese government figures, with goods flows growing strongly in both directions. Imports from India grew faster, although from a lower base, than China's exports to its neighbour. India's trade with China has increased in recent years after decades of rivalry that included a brief war in 1962. (Writing by Himangshu Watts, Editing by Peter Blackburn) ear, imports of the metal amounted to $82.74 million.