The government is considering a proposal to impose safeguard duty on steel imports.
The final decision to impose duty can be taken by the Ministry of Finance on the recommendations of the Ministry of Commerce.
Union Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Thursday that the government is considering a proposal to impose safeguard duty on steel imports.
Kumaraswamy told PTI on the sidelines of a function here that the ministry’s proposal to impose 25 percent duty on steel imports is “underway”.
On December 2, the steel ministry in a meeting with the commerce department had proposed to impose a 25 percent safeguard duty on certain steel products imported into the country. Steel Minister and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal were present in the meeting.
The final decision to impose duty can be taken by the Ministry of Finance on the recommendations of the Ministry of Commerce.
Domestic steel players have consistently raised concerns over cheap steel imports from select countries, affecting their competitiveness.
Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik had said last month that more than 60 per cent of steel imports come from FTA (Free Trade Agreement) countries at zero duty and any increase in duty will not affect these shipments.
Poundrick said there is a real problem and the ministry is aware of it.
India’s steel imports in April-September 2024-25 stood at 5.51 million tonnes (MnT), up from 3.66 million tonnes in the year-ago period, according to research firm BigMint.
It said imports from China rose to 1.85 million tonnes during the period from 1.02 million tonnes in the April-September period of FY 2023-24.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed. PTI)