India has indicated to the US that it should remove restrictions on imports of its hot-rolled steel products at the earliest in line with a recent ruling of the World Trade Organisation, so that domestic companies can start exporting again.

New Delhi has informed Washington that while it is willing to give it the maximum period of 15 months allowed by the WTO to change its legislation in line with the WTO ruling, it should not ask for more time to implement the new rules.

Companies such as Essar, Tata Steel and Jindal, which had stopped exporting to the US because of the steep penal duties, as high as 577 per cent in some cases, could regain their foothold in the market once these duties are removed, a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine .

“We want the US to simultaneously work on implementation of the changed rules and removal of penal duties wherever required. This will ensure that at the end of 15 months, the US will not take more time to decide how the new rules should be applied on the ground,” a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine .

The WTO, late last year, had ruled against the US’ imposition of countervailing duties (anti-subsidy duties) on hot-rolled steel products from India. It said that the US’ practice of ‘cumulation’ or addition of subsidised and dumped (exports at prices lower than those prevailing in the domestic market of the seller) imports while calculating the injury suffered due to subsidised imports alone was faulty.

It also ruled that state-owned enterprises such as NMDC cannot be categorised as a public body on the grounds that it did not have governmental authority or discharged governmental function.

This means that inputs sold by such enterprises to companies for manufacturing items cannot be viewed as subsidised inputs.

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