Following the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) ruling against penal duties imposed by the US on hot rolled steel from Indian companies, New Delhi is compiling data on similar levies on other products in order to convince the US scrap them as well.

These items include lined paper products, PET film, commodity matchboxes, certain chemicals and at least five other steel products, an official in the Commerce Ministry told BusinessLine .

The Centre is also looking at how the US will implement the WTO ruling that held that CVD (countervailing duties) – levies to counter subsidised exports of a particular item – imposed by the US on hot rolled steel from India flouted global trade rules.

Proper implementation of the verdict would result in companies such as Essar, Jindal Steel and Tata Steel to resume their steel exports to the US.

“India is preparing the list of implementation issues pertaining to this case as well as the implications of this ruling on other CVD cases for future presentations before the Dispute Settlement Body (of WTO) and discussion with the US for its implementation,” according to an internal note prepared by Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher for the Cabinet Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office.

Indian steel companies had to almost stop all exports of hot rolled steel items to the US over the last few years as CVD ranging from 76 per cent to 577 per cent made their products highly uncompetitive.

“We have to ensure that the US properly implements the WTO’s ruling so that it translates into removal of the penal duties and other obstructions to imports,” the official said.

Giving its verdict on a case filed by India against the US’ imposition of CVD or anti-subsidy duties on its hot-rolled steel products in December last year, the WTO upheld that the US practice of ‘cumulation’ or addition of subsidised and dumped imports while calculating the injury suffered by its industry due to subsidised imports was faulty.

Because of cumulation, the US ended up showing that its industry was affected much more severely because of supposedly subsidised exports from India when actually it was hurt because of dumped (exports at prices lower than those prevailing in the domestic market of the seller) exports from elsewhere.

The WTO also ruled that state-owned enterprises such as NMDC cannot be categorised as a public body on the ground 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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