The textile and apparel industry organizations in India have voiced out a strong opposition unitedly to the recommendation to impose steep anti-dumping duties – ADD on mono ethylene glycol – MEG by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies – DGTR. Industry leaders have warned that the proposed duties, which range between $103 and $137 per metric ton, could as well dismantle the progress attained through the recent GST reforms and also cripple the downstream value chain.
The DGTR went on to recommend certain anti-dumping duties on MEG imports coming from Gulf nations as well as Singapore in its final findings, which were issued on September 23, 2025. As per the rules, the Ministry of Finance has to take a final decision in 90 days of the DGTR notification. Due to this, the government has got just a few days left so as to take a final call pertaining to the matter.
While the industry has gone on to express sincere appreciation for the recent decision to reduce GST on man-made fibre – MMF and yarn to 5% for the Government of India, the proposed ADD on MEG indeed threatens to negate such benefits completely. There are experts who estimate that the duty would as well increase MEG costs by almost 20%, thereby effectively erasing affordability gains, which are intended for both consumers as well as manufacturers.
The industry put forth a staggering 40% domestic demand–supply gap. With national demand at 3.1 MTPA and the domestic capacity, which is limited to 2.5 MTPA, India still remains structurally dependent in terms of its imports from strategic partners like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.
The representatives from the industry say that this is not only a trade remedy but also a chokehold on the backbone of Indian textiles. They further opine that no new MEG plants are in the pipeline in order to meet the present demand, thereby making these punitive duties a direct tax on survival.
A collective of over 15 industries as well as trade associations went on to warn of a domino effect that could as well derail the vision of Viksit Bharat. Almost 40,000 small-scale manufacturers could as well face immediate threats in terms of viability, with many at the unwanted risk of closure. A forecasted 3 lakh potential jobs, which are associated with the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, are now in that bracket of jeopardy. Interestingly, between ₹20,000 crore and ₹30,000 crore in terms of planned expansion along with modernization projects are most likely to get stalled or even cancelled. The duty would also go on to worsen the inverted duty structure, thereby making the Indian exports prominently more expensive as compared to the global competitors.
It won’t be an exaggeration to state that the industry has drawn parallels with 2020, when the Indian government went on to revoke similar duties on PTA, which is yet another key raw material, in the interest of the public as well as the broader textile sector.
Notably, the protest pertaining to anti-dumping duties on MEG imports goes on to represent a pan-India movement that involves over 15 major textiles as well as apparel associations. The group goes on to advocate sustainable and inclusive growth, thereby making sure that the lifeblood of the polyester value chain still remains accessible to the thousands of MSMEs, which are, without a shred of doubt, the backbone of the industrial landscape of India.
Due to these developments taking place, these industry bodies have gone ahead and made a formal submission to the Finance Ministry of India. urging it to reject the recommendations made by the DGTR.
