Government launches probe to set ‘protection duties’ on steel as imports rise: report

The government has launched an investigation to determine whether it should impose safeguard duties or a temporary tax to limit the increase in steel imports.

The probe comes on the heels of a petition filed by the Indian Steel Association, which represents major steel producers such as ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd and Jindal Steel and Power, demanding a probe into imports of “non-alloy and alloy steel flat products” into India. India, according to a Reuters report.

The General Directorate of Trade Remedies, under the Ministry of Commerce, announced the investigation in a memorandum dated December 19, citing sufficient evidence of a “recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports” to justify launching an investigation.

India’s imports of finished steel from China reached a record level, raising concerns among domestic mills about the impact of cheap shipments from China, provisional government data for the first eight months of the fiscal year ending March 2025 showed.

Total finished steel imports reached their highest levels in eight years, with India, the second largest producer of crude steel in the world, becoming a net importer during this period.

India imported 6.5 million metric tons of finished steel, representing a 26.6 percent increase year-on-year, the data showed.

During the same period, China exported 1.96 million metric tons of steel to India, an increase of 22.8 percent compared to the previous year.

China primarily exported stainless steel, hot-rolled coils, plates, electroplates, plain or corrugated galvanized sheets, pipes, bars, bars and other steel products.

Finished steel imports from Japan also rose to a six-year high during the April-November period, with imports doubling to 1.4 million metric tons, according to the data.

China, Japan and South Korea together accounted for 79% of India’s total finished steel imports during this period.

Hot-rolled coils were the most imported steel products, while bars and bars topped the flat product category.