Imposition of the safeguard duties on hot rolled steel coils for a period of two more years is a welcome step and it recognises the serious injury faced by the domestic steel industry on account of imports at predatory prices, Dr Sanak Mishra, Secretary General, Indian Steel Association (ISA) said.
Commenting on the final findings by the Director General of Safeguards, Ministry of Finance, pertaining to safeguard investigation on imports of “hot-rolled flat products of non-alloy and other alloy steel in coils of width of 600 mm or more” into India, Dr Mishra, welcomed the prompt corrective action taken by the government in public interest.
Over the last one year, the ISA has consistently apprised all concerned ministries in the Government of India on the deep negative impacts of the large volumes of imports of steel products at predatory prices.
In tandem with the surge in imports, domestic prices of steel products had declined substantially hitting the financial performance of domestic steel producers. ISA also highlighted how continued surge of imports will eventually distort the market structure, and also the long term growth plans of the Indian steel industry.
Dr Mishra also stated that the timely action of imposition of safeguard duties will aid in the faster recovery of domestic steel producers, and would work towards contributing to the success of “Make in India”.
Earlier, reports said the Directorate General of Safeguards, a division of the finance ministry, found that cheap overseas purchases of steel were causing serious injury to India, the world's third-largest steel producer, and the imposition of a safeguard duty would be in the public interest.
The duty could be lowered every six months after the first year and by March 2018 could be levied at 10% depending on the value of the goods, the director recommended.
Such recommendations from the safeguards department are generally accepted by the finance ministry because they come after detailed investigations.