India has no plans to further increase import duties on steel

India's finance ministry ruled out an increase in import duty on steel despite a whopping 205 percent increase in imports from China during the previous fiscal year. "Further increases in import duties will affect the processing industry. This will raise the price of final products, which in turn will have a negative impact on inflation," said an official from the Ministry of Finance.

Last month, duties were imposed on various categories of imported steel in the amount of 33.3 - 50 percentage points. However, categories such as stainless steel and cold rolled grain oriented electrical (CRGO) steel were exempted from this increase. Domestic steelmakers have demanded an increase in duties and received support from heavy industry companies and state-owned enterprises.

In an interview with BusinessLine, a Steel Ministry spokesman said: "Imports not only threaten Indian steel companies, but also industrial workers. Today, steel production in India is 50 percent of installed capacity."

The biggest concern is the increase in steel imports from China, which offers a 15 percent export subsidy to its producers. The share of Chinese steel imports rose to 69 percent. India's stainless steel imports rose 49 percent in the last fiscal year. Taking this into account, even the Ministry of Steel insists on a further increase in import duties, referring to the Ministry of Finance, which believes that the increase in duties will contribute to inflationary processes in the country.

Effective June 17, 2015, duties were increased on various types of steel, with the exception of alloy steel (flat and long products), stainless steel (long products) and unalloyed long products, from 5 percent to 7.5 percent. At the same time, unalloyed flat products and cast flat products, which previously had 7.5 percent duties, began to attract 10 percent.