India has initiated sunset review of anti-dumping (AD) duty on imports of cold-rolled flat products of alloy steel or non-alloy steel of all thickness and width (not clad, plated or coated) originating or imported from China, Japan, Korea or Ukraine.
The investigation covers products traded under HS codes 7209, 7211, 7225 or 7226.
India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiated the review on the petition filed by the Indian Steel Association on behalf of domestic steel producers Steel Authority of India (Sail), JSW Steel, JSW Steel Coated, and AMNS, supported by Tata Steel and Tata Steel BSL.
Exporters of these products include major steelmakers Kobe Steel, Nippon Steel, JFE, Posco, Hyundai Steel and Dongkuk. While importers include major Indian automakers and appliance manufacturers.
The AD duty was imposed on May 12, 2017 and was scheduled to expire on Aug 16, 2021. The quantum of duty was the difference between nil to $576/mt and the landed value of the imports. Alongside the review, the government has extended the duty until Dec 15, 2021.
Indian steel imports have declined steadily in the last fiscals FY2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 to 7.84mn mt, 6.77mn mt and 4.75mn mt, respectively. In April-June period, finished steel imports were 1.16mn mt, according to official provisional data.
Domestic producers fear a surge in imports if the duty is removed. Given the steady uptick in commodity prices, Indian buyers could opt for imports if available at a discount to domestic prices.