The Commerce Ministry has proposed a 12% safeguard duty on some steel products, as it aims to protect India's local industry from a surge in dumping of cheap imports from countries like China, due to tariffs announced by the US.
The Directorate General of Trade Remedies, which is the Commerce Ministry's trade investigations arm, has recommended the duties be applied for a period of 200 days, according to a preliminary decision published late on Tuesday.
The findings are now open for comments for 30 days, and a final decision will be announced after that.
In view of the above conclusion, the authority considered the appropriate measure to be imposed provisionally. The objective is to protect the domestic industry for the product under consideration, against the surge of imports, it said. Trade diversion due to the protective measures imposed by the United States has been a major cause of the surge in imports.
"Any delay in imposition of provisional safeguard measures would cause further damage to the domestic industry, which may be irreparable, both in relation to potential closure of capacities, as well as decommissioning of future planned investments to increase capacity," The DGTR added.
Critical circumstances very much exist "warranting the immediate imposition of safeguard measures", it said.
In December, the DGTR had started an investigation into imports of non-alloy and alloy steel flat products, which are used in industries including construction, capital goods, automobile, tractors, white goods, electrical panels and furniture.
The probe came after the Indian Steel Association filed a complaint with the DGTR alleging a "recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports", which has caused "injury to the domestic industry".
Indian Steel Association members include leading domestic steel companies such as ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, JSW Steel Ltd., Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd., Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. and Steel Authority of India Ltd.
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