India's Ministry of Steel to raise tariffs to curb China's steel imports
2019-06-27 17:25:23 [Print]
In order to curb the import of steel from China and cope with the global overcapacity, India's Ministry of Steel (hereinafter referred to as "the Ministry") recently proposed to raise the import tariff on steel products from 7.5%-12.5% to 15%.
The Ministry has raised import tariffs as part of the Ministry of Finance's national budget proposal for fiscal year 2019-2020. The budget will be released on July 5.
"Due to the Sino-US trade war, China is seeking alternative markets for steel export, which will pose a threat to the Indian market," the Ministry indicated.
The Ministry said India's domestic steel mills were vulnerable to foreign market and the steel industry needs to restrict "cheap steel imports under unfair trading".
"The ceiling tax rate for all steel products may be raised to 25% to deal with all unexpected events arising from potential global market turmoil," the Ministry said.
The Ministry said that fluctuations in steel prices made existing anti-dumping and countervailing duties ineffective.
The Ministry said that if new import tariffs were implemented, Indian government revenue would increase by 13.66 billion rupees (1.35 billion yuan or 196 million US dollars). However, the final decision of India's Ministry of Finance is still needed.
In fiscal year 2018-2019, India was transformed from a net exporter of steel to a net importer due to increased local demand and increased imports from Japan, South Korea and China.
Japan, South Korea and ASEAN members have signed free trade agreements with India. 58% of India's steel imports come from these countries, while 18% from China.
As the Sino-US trade war became increasingly fierce, the Indian government feared that Chinese steel would pour into the Indian market in large quantities.
According to data of Indian government, in 2018, more than 50% of India's wire and rod imports came from China.
The output of four major Indian steelmakers, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, SAIL and Jindal Steel & Power, accounts for 45% of India's total steel output. These companies said that in the past few months, large volumes of imported steel products flooded into the market, which posed a threat to local steel enterprises.
The Ministry is also seeking to reduce import tariffs on coking coal, steel scrap and graphite electrode to reduce the cost of raw materials for steelmaking.
The Ministry has raised import tariffs as part of the Ministry of Finance's national budget proposal for fiscal year 2019-2020. The budget will be released on July 5.
"Due to the Sino-US trade war, China is seeking alternative markets for steel export, which will pose a threat to the Indian market," the Ministry indicated.
The Ministry said India's domestic steel mills were vulnerable to foreign market and the steel industry needs to restrict "cheap steel imports under unfair trading".
"The ceiling tax rate for all steel products may be raised to 25% to deal with all unexpected events arising from potential global market turmoil," the Ministry said.
The Ministry said that fluctuations in steel prices made existing anti-dumping and countervailing duties ineffective.
The Ministry said that if new import tariffs were implemented, Indian government revenue would increase by 13.66 billion rupees (1.35 billion yuan or 196 million US dollars). However, the final decision of India's Ministry of Finance is still needed.
In fiscal year 2018-2019, India was transformed from a net exporter of steel to a net importer due to increased local demand and increased imports from Japan, South Korea and China.
Japan, South Korea and ASEAN members have signed free trade agreements with India. 58% of India's steel imports come from these countries, while 18% from China.
As the Sino-US trade war became increasingly fierce, the Indian government feared that Chinese steel would pour into the Indian market in large quantities.
According to data of Indian government, in 2018, more than 50% of India's wire and rod imports came from China.
The output of four major Indian steelmakers, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, SAIL and Jindal Steel & Power, accounts for 45% of India's total steel output. These companies said that in the past few months, large volumes of imported steel products flooded into the market, which posed a threat to local steel enterprises.
The Ministry is also seeking to reduce import tariffs on coking coal, steel scrap and graphite electrode to reduce the cost of raw materials for steelmaking.
