The Hindu Business Line : Govt alert to the possibility of steel dumping from China

“The perception in the market is: Since price in China is very low it is likely to dump its products in India. So far it has not happened, but it is likely to happen if there is a huge price difference between domestic and imported steel,” Mr Pramod Kumar Rastogi, Union Steel Secretary, told Business Line on a recent visit to the city.

According to him, generally after an agreement is reached it takes one to one-and-half months for the goods to be delivered, but as of now there is no evidence of an increase in steel imports and things would show up next month when the ordered shipments are delivered.

Encouraging exports

According to the Steel Ministry’s Joint Plant Committee data steel imports between April and October fell by 10.56 per cent from 5.87 million tonnes last year to 5.25 million tonnes this year. Mr Rastogi also said exports have reduced as compared to same period last year.

Steel Ministry officials said the Revenue Department is keeping an eye on steel imports at ports across the country and also monitoring the prices at which the commodity is being brought into the country almost on a daily basis.

The Steel Ministry had recently asked the Finance Ministry to consider levy of a 10 per cent import duty and a 15 per cent countervailing duty on all categories of steel items.

The industry, however, is pushing for a higher import duty of 15-20 per cent on all categories to ward off the possible threat of imports from China, Ukraine and Thailand amid the global economic recession.

To encourage domestic steel makers to export despite falling global prices, the Government on October 31 ordered withdrawal of export duty on certain steel products.

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