BENGALURU: The safeguard duty India imposed on solar cells and modules coming from China and Malaysia, which enjoyed 85-90% market share in the country, is just a few months away from completing its two-year course, and the government may have a tough time deciding whether to extend it or not.
The safeguard duty imposed in July 2018 was pegged at 25% for the first year, 20% for the next six months, and 15% for the last six months ending in July this year. The idea was to somewhat level the playing field for Indian manufacturers who were unable to compete with their Chinese rivals on price. Under WTO rules, such duty can be imposed for a maximum of four years to protect domestic industry but it has to be progressively lowered.
But the question before the government is, has the duty done local manufacturing any good?
