India is considering expanding the basket of steel products that attracts an anti-dumping tax to stem inflows of cheaper supplies into the world’s third-biggest producer.
The Indian Ministry of Steel is likely to levy anti-dumping taxes on some of the 66 products that are covered by the minimum import price rule before it expires on Oct. 4, Indian Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Last month, India imposed anti-dumping duties on some hot and cold-rolled products.
Photo: Bloomberg
A global steel glut and a deluge of lower-priced imports from countries like China, Russia, South Korea and Japan have led India to tighten restrictions on inbound shipments to aid domestic producers. Imports have slowed in the financial year beginning in April after rising to a record 11.7 million tonnes the previous year.
“We are not against imports. But if any country is resorting to dumping at less than cost of production then definitely it’s an issue,” Sharma said. “Minimum import price is an emergency measure. It can’t be a regular measure.”
Indian steel companies have to be aggressive in marketing their products and boosting local consumption, Sharma said.
“About 60kg per capita is rock bottom for a country with a good trajectory of growth,” she said. “India’s per capita consumption should at least double to 120kg to absorb an expansion in capacity from 118 million tonnes to a target of 150 million tonnes by 2018.”
The steel ministry will be meeting with banks and banking associations to discuss stressed assets in the sector within the next two weeks, Sharma said.
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