By Neha Arora
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s steel and commerce ministries are in talks on increasing imports, especially of cheap Chinese goods, a government source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Saturday, amid persistent calls for tariffs highest of the main producers.
India became a net importer of steel in the fiscal year ending March and the trend continues with its finished steel imports reaching a five-year high in April and May, according to provisional government data.
India imported 1.1 million metric tons of finished steel between April and May, an increase of 19.8% from the previous year.
“The Ministry of Steel informed the Ministry of Commerce about the increase in imports and the industry sought an investigation,” the source said, declining to be identified because the discussions are not public.
India is monitoring cheap Chinese imports, the source said, as China continues to be the top exporter of steel to Asia’s third-largest economy in recent months.
Major Indian steel producers such as Tata Steel have flagged Chinese imports as a “growing concern”.
India’s steel mills, alarmed by a sharp rise in imports, have repeatedly called for government intervention and higher import duties. However, the Federal Ministry of Steel resisted such calls, citing strong local demand.
Earlier on Saturday, a senior executive at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India said the government should consider increasing the basic customs duty on steel from 7.5% to 12.5% due to rising imports.
“Immediately, we must return to the 12.5% rate regime, which existed before,” said Ranjan Dhar, director and vice-president, sales and marketing, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; writing by Nikunj Ohri; editing by William Mallard and Himani Sarkar)
