The World Trade Organization's dispute settlement body agreed to set up a panel in a case filed by China against India over measures for solar cells, modules, and IT goods, according to a Geneva-based official. China has alleged that India's tariffs, local-content requirements and incentive schemes for solar manufacturing discriminate against Chinese products and violate WTO rules. China's second request was accepted by the dispute settlement body during a meeting on Tuesday in Geneva, after India had earlier blocked China's first request in May. The panel will determine whether import duties and other measures applied by India on certain imported high-tech goods, as well as certain incentive measures for solar energy products, are consistent with India's WTO commitments. India has expressed regret over China's second request, stating that the WTO's limited dispute settlement resources should be reserved for genuine and unresolved trade concerns. The country maintained that during consultations with China, it had demonstrated that the measures in question were consistent with its obligations under the WTO agreements.
At the heart of the case are several policy measures introduced by India in recent years, including customs duties on imported solar cells and modules, the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), and production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes aimed at boosting local manufacturing capacity. These initiatives have helped domestic solar manufacturers expand rapidly as India seeks to build a self-reliant clean-energy supply chain. Shares of solar manufacturers including Waaree Energies, Premier Energies, Vikram Solar, Emmvee and Adani Solar will be in focus after the WTO agreed to set up the dispute panel. The key concern now is whether an adverse WTO ruling could eventually force India to dilute some of these protections, potentially affecting margins and market share for local players. WTO cases typically take several months, and often years, before final rulings are issued and implemented, making the development currently viewed more as a policy overhang than a near-term earnings risk.
India has imposed anti-dumping duties on multiple chemical imports from China, the European Union, and the US, according to the latest finance ministry notification dated June 19. The duties range between USD 75 per tonne and USD 1,748 per tonne on 'Sulphenamides Accelerators' from these regions. As per the DGTR recommendation, the duty has been imposed for five years unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier. This follows India's earlier investigation into electrical steel imports from China, Japan, Korea and Russia, demonstrating the country's continued efforts to protect domestic industries from unfair trade practices.
India has extended anti-dumping duties on aluminium foil imports from China, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, with the duty in force till December 15 this year, as per the department of revenue notification. Additionally, India has imposed a USD 200.66 per tonne anti-dumping duty on 'Polyethylene Terephthalate resin' from China for five years, having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.72 decilitres per gram or higher. These extended measures demonstrate India's systematic approach to addressing unfair trade practices across multiple sectors and regions.
India and these countries are members of the WTO, and these duties are imposed under the multilateral regime as countermeasures to ensure fair trading practices. China has overtaken the US to emerge as India's largest trading partner in 2025-26, with bilateral trade reaching $151.1 billion, while the country's trade deficit with Beijing widened to $112.16 billion during the period. The investigation represents India's continued efforts to protect domestic industries from unfair trade practices through legitimate trade remedy measures under international trade regulations.
