Having pulled out the last 19 steel products from the purview of WTO non-compatible minimum import price (MIP), initially imposed on 173 products in February last year, the government is set to provide for a stronger and long-lasting protection for domestic industry in the form of anti-dumping duty on cheap imports of specified hot-rolled, cold-rolled and other products numbering at least 124.
Faced with rising imports amid anaemic domestic demand, the government had in February last year initially imposed MIP in the range of $341-752/tonne to provide a level-playing field against the injury caused as evident from the decline in margins of the local producers.
The list of 173 was pruned to 66 in August for continuation for two months, but the government continued with the number in October giving MIP extension on these products for another two months.
It extended MIP on 19 products in December for two months and now, the number has now been brought down to nil.
India has been under pressure in multilateral fora to remove the MIPs seen as an outdated measure that is WTO-incompatible. Shortly after MIP was imposed, steel imports started falling and the domestic industry’s sales and margins picked up.
Meanwhile, in August last year, it imposed provisional anti-dumping duties in the range of $69-152 per tonne on Hot-Rolled coil and “HR not in coil”, after concluding these items are being imported into India at below normal (cost) price, for six months. In the same month, it also slapped anti-dumping duty of the difference between the landed value of the steel products and $594 per tonne on certain cold-rolled flat steel products for six months.
Again, last November, it imposed provisional anti-dumping duty on wire rod of alloy and non-alloy steel and in January, on import of colour-coated sheets originating from China and the European Union into India, taking the total number of products under anti-dumping duty to 124. Thirty long products and 19 products related to colour coating have no duty imposed on them now.
“There are 124 products now on which anti-dumping duty is there. This includes two colour-coated products. We don’t feel anti-dumping duty is needed for others among 173 products on which MIP was imposed.
However, if there is dumping evidence, we may bring anti-dumping duty on the products now left out,” steel secretary Aruna Sharma told FE.
Sharma said as investigations are still pending, the provisional anti-dumping duty on some of these items, the tenure of which is ending in the current week, has been extended for two months and based on evidence of injury, the directorate general of anti-dumping (DGAD) would take the final call for extend them for longer term.
Source: financialexpress.com