| Date: |
19-01-2016 |
| Subject: |
Government yet to decide on MIP for steel: Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia |
|
NEW DELHI: Under pressure from certain sectors of the steel industry to impose a minimum import price (MIP) on steel, the government is yet to take a call on the matter as it is examining the arguments of both steel producers, who want the restriction, and downstream sectors that use steel and want low-cost imports, commerce secretary Rita Teaotia said.
Indian steel makers, including Tata Steel Bhushan Steel, JSW and Essar, met commerce and industry minister Niramala Sitharaman in November last year to discuss dumping of steel by China, Japan and Korea, and sought more measures to counter the flooding of steel products. The delegation, which also had members from SAIL and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, urged the government to fix a floor price for steel imports, alleging that domestic steel firms got no relief even after the government imposed safeguard duties in September, antidumping duty in June and raised import duty in August.
"Despite the increase in steel imports, 85% of demand is still being met domestically," Teaotia said. He said India's peak import of steel this year has been 15% of total domestic steel consumption, compared to 9% in previous years.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
|