The Indian government on Tuesday extended anti-dumping duty on imports of some flat-finished steel, including HRC and CRC until December. The government had imposed duties in August 2016 for five years which were due to end in June.
Amid high global steel prices, the government attempts to support domestic manufacturers against imports from countries, including China, Japan, and Korea at unfair values.
According to notifications by the Department of Revenue, the duties have been extended on ‘hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel’ originating in or exported from China, Japan, Korea, Russia, and Brazil, and ‘cold-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel’ from China, Japan, and Korea.
The commerce ministry’s investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), recommended the extension to ensure fair trade against below-cost imports and offer a level-playing field to the domestic industry.
India imports around 6.5mn mt of flat steel products every year, accounting for over 70pc consumption. The largest exporter to India is South Korea with about 30pc share or 2.6-2.7mn mt, followed by China with 28pc (2.5mn mt) and Japan with 15pc (1.3 mn mt) every year.
The department has also extended the duties on tire curing presses, also known as tire vulcanizers or rubber processing machinery for tires, excluding six-day light-curing press for curing bi-cycle tires imported from China until November 30.