Government Makes A ‘Steel’ Statement; Imposes Anti-Dumping Duties On Specific Chinese Imports

The Indian government has imposed anti-dumping duties on specific steel products imported to India from China for a period of five years, Indian Express has reported. The duties will range from $ 44.89 to $185.51 per tonne for the said period. The duties are aimed at protecting the domestic steel industry from cheap Chinese imports.

Domestic steelmakers JSW Steel Ltd, Sunflag Iron & Steel Co, Usha Martin, Gerdau Steel India, Vardhman Special Steels and Jayaswal Neco Industries Ltd had jointly filed an application before the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) for initiation of investigations and levying of anti-dumping duties on certain steel products.

“The anti-dumping duty … shall be effective for five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette and shall be paid in Indian currency,” the notification said.

The DGTR, which recommended the anti-dumping duty stated that dumped imports of ‘straight length bars and rods of alloy steel’ from China have increased in absolute terms during the period of the probe.

In addition to concerns of dumping, the trade gap with China has increased to $ 63.12 billion in 2017-18 from $ 51.11 billion in the previous financial year.