Majority of steel imports under FTAs, making any duty hike ineffective, says steel secy

A labourer works inside a steel factory in Kanpur. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Around 62% of steel imports are landing from FTA countries at nil duty and any duty hike will not have any impact on these shipments, Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik said on Wednesday (November 20, 2024) while acknowledging that there is a genuine problem of supply glut due to increased imports.

His comments have come against the background of domestic steel players raising concerns over rising cheap steel imports from select nations, affecting their competitiveness. The domestic industry has also sought an increase in customs duty on steel products to check below-cost shipments.

Speaking at a FICCI event, the Steel Secretary even if the government raises the basic customs duty on imports, the move will not have the desired impact as 62% of the shipments entering India from FTA nations.

There is a genuine problem and the Ministry is aware of that, Mr. Poundrik said adding that there are multiple ways to protect the domestic industry but the only problem is that 62% of imports are from FTA countries.

“So, if we increase basic customs duty, there is no impact on these 62 per cent imports because there is no duty,” the Secretary said.

He also said there have been concerns for almost a year, especially in the last few months that dumping is happening at the international level and steel prices have come down.

Indian imports in the first half of this financial year increased by around 41% and exports have gone down by 36%.

The inventory levels in steel companies have increased from normal 15-16 days to up to 30 days, he said adding the industry is facing a genuine problem.

He also said that the steel demand has expanded by 13% in the first half of the year and per capita steel consumption is heading towards 100 kg. The installed capacity stands at 180 million tonnes (MT) and another 120 MT is to be installed by 2030 to meet the 300 MT target.

According to BigMint, India’s steel imports were at 5.51 million tonnes (MT) in April-September 2024-25, higher from 3.66 MT in the year-ago period, Imports from China surged to 1.85 MT during that period from 1.02 MT in April-September period of financial year 2023-24, it said.

India has free trade agreements (FTA) with countries like Japan, South Korea, Mauritius and the ASEAN bloc.