India proposes 12% safeguard duty on steel imports, including China and Vietnam

India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended a provisional safeguard duty of 12 per cent on steel imports coming in, including those coming in from China and Vietnam, “to eliminate the serious injury and threat thereof to the domestic industry”; signalling a major relief for India’s steel mills.  The duty will be levied for 200 days, pending the final determination of the probe. However, imports originating from other “developing nations” other than China and Vietnam will be exempt. 

The preliminary findings report mentions, “there is a recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports… into India, causing and threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic industry (and also) producers of the products under consideration.” “Authority considers that a provisional safeguard duty of 12% will be appropriate to eliminate the serious injury and threat thereof to the domestic industry,” the report said. 

“There exist critical circumstances, where any delay in application for provisional Safeguard measures would cause damage which it would be difficult to repair,” the report said adding that: “there is a necessity for immediate application of provisional Safeguard measures”. 

Imports of the metal from China and Vietnam individually account for more than 3 per cent of the total shipments into India; where as imports from all other developing countries individually are less than 3 per cent.  Further, the collective share of imports from developing countries (excluding China PR and Viet Nam) does not exceed 9 per cent of the total incoming shipments. 

“Therefore, the imports originating from developing countries except China and Vietnam, shall be exempt from the levy of Safeguard Duty,” it said.

Products on which duties will be imposed include hot rolled (“HR”) coils, sheets and plates, HR Plate Mill Plates (“PMP”), Cold Rolled (“CR”) coils and sheets, Metallic Coated Steel coils and sheets, whether or not profiled, including Galvanneal, Coated with Zinc or Aluminium-Zinc or Zinc-Aluminium-Magnesium (”Coated”), and  Colour Coated coils and sheets, whether or not profiled (“CC”). 

Exclusions have been granted for stainless steel imports, including selected speciality products like Cold Rolled Grain Oriented Electrical Steel (CRGO), Cold Rolled Non-Oriented Electrical Steel (CRNO) coils and sheets, Coated - Electro Galvanized Steel, Tinplate, Nickel Coated / Nickel Plated Cold Rolled Steel; Rubber Coated Steel; Electro Galvanised (EG) – Zinc Nickel Coated Steel; Bi-Metal Steel, Brass Coated Steel Wire and Aluminium Coated steel, the probe findings said. businessline had on March 10 reported that a 12 -15 per cent duty was being recommended on import of select steel products including flat steel offerings in view of rising imports...“To counter the trade diversion from USA as well as any possible diversion from other countries that have put in place import barriers to counter trade diversion from USA into their countries, any protective measure by India shall be at a level adequate to ward off the trade diversion,” it noted. 

India has been a net metal importer for nearly 18 months. 

The DGTR findings mention that the final probe is underway, and “the Authority invites comments on the preliminary findings from all interested parties within 30 days”. 

An oral hearing will be held in due course before making a final determination. The Authority would conduct further verification of the information submitted by the interested parties as deemed necessary, it added.