By Neha Arora
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India is considering extending an import tariff, locally known as a safeguard duty, on some steel products to counter cheaper imports primarily from China, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
India, the world’s second-biggest crude steel producer, had in August recommended a three-year import tariff of 11%-12% on some steel products as part of the final findings of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies that falls under the federal trade ministry.
“It (tariff) is under consideration,” the source told Reuters, declining to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the matter.
India’s Ministry of Finance did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comments.
The Indian government had in April imposed a 12% temporary tariff for 200 days that lapsed earlier this month.
India’s finished steel imports during the first seven months of the financial year were down 34.1% year-on-year.
South Korea was the biggest exporter of finished steel to India during the period, shipping in 1.4 million metric tons of finished steel, followed by China, Japan and Russia.
Chinese steel exports made India “vulnerable”, the source said, primarily due to cheaper prices.
China’s steel output will slip below 1 billion tons this year for the first time in six years, on track to meet the government’s pledge to reduce production, the state-backed steel association said late last month.
Beijing in late October unveiled a proposal for a more stringent steel capacity swap plan to reduce existing capacity, a move that is set to rebalance supply and demand in the sector contending with overcapacity.
(Reporting by Neha Arora, Editing by Louise Heavens)
