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 year, imports of the metal amounted to $82.74 million.
Source : REUTERS INDIA