India Shields Domestic Steel Industry With Three-Year Duty

India introduces a three-year safeguard duty on specific steel imports to bolster its domestic industry against rising cheap imports. Starting April 2025, the duty will start at 12% and gradually reduce to 11% by 2028. This measure follows an investigation by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies.

In a strategic move to bolster its domestic steel industry, India has announced the imposition of a safeguard duty on certain steel imports for a period of three years. The finance ministry's recent notification outlines that the duty will commence at 12% in the first year, starting 21st April 2025, and will reduce incrementally to 11% by April 2028.

This decision follows an investigation by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which highlighted a significant increase in imports of non-alloy and alloy steel flat products. These materials, crucial for industries like construction and auto manufacturing, saw imports rising from 2.293 million tonnes in 2021-22 to 6.612 million tonnes during the study period.

While the duty aims to support domestic players such as ArcelorMittal and JSW Steel, it has been met with resistance from industries reliant on these imports. Critics argue that increased raw material costs could hurt competitiveness, especially impacting MSME exporters in the engineering sector concerned about product competitiveness on the global stage.

(With inputs from agencies.)