Minister HD Kumaraswamy welcomes decision of 12 pc safeguard duty on imported steel flat products

Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel H D Kumaraswamy welcomed the decision of the Finance Ministry to impose 12 per cent safeguard duty on on imported steel flat products.

On social media site “X” the minister said “I welcome the 12% safeguard duty on imported steel flat products. This will protect Indian manufacturers, ensure fair competition, and boost domestic industry.”

On Monday evening, India announced a temporary 12 per cent tariff on steel product imports with immediate effect. The decision was taken after the US imposed a flat 25 per cent duty on the import of steel and steel products from all countries.

The notification of the finance ministry says the 12 per cent duty on imports to India will be applicable only on “Non-Alloy and Alloy steel flat products”. The decision is taken mainly to prevent dumping of steel in India.

“The safeguard duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period of two hundred days (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier) from the date of publication of this notification,” said the notification issued by the finance ministry.

The safeguard tariffs are primarily aimed at China, which was the second-biggest exporter of steel to India behind South Korea.

The finance ministry notification has set the import prices between USD 675 per tonne to USD 964 per tonne for the five steel product categories. Any shipment imported below these import prices would attract the safeguard duty of 12 per cent effective April 21.

The safeguard duty shall not be imposed on the product categories when imported into India at or above the specified import price on CIF (cost insurance freight) basis, according to the notification.

The product categories attracting safeguard duty includes Hot Rolled coils, sheets and plates; Hot Rolled Plate Mill Plates; Cold Rolled Coils and Sheets; Metallic Coated Steel Coils and Sheets; and Colour Coated coils and sheets, whether or not profiled.

Earlier in December 2024, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has started investigation into the sudden surge in imports of ‘Non-Alloy and Alloy Steel Flat Products’, used in various industries.

Big domestic steel manufacturers were in favour of imposing additional duty but the steel user industry was strongly opposed to it, as the safeguard duty will push raw material prices up, impacting their competitiveness.

Exporters from the MSME sectors from the engineering sector have earlier said that any move to impose additional duties on steel imports would make domestic products uncompetitive and impact the country’s outbound shipments from the sector.

Safeguard duties are imposed to provide a level-playing field to domestic industry in case of sudden and significant increase in imports of a product. The measure is used when imports of a particular product increase unexpectedly to a point that they cause or threaten to cause serious impact to domestic producers.