India wants to impose import duty on coated steel

After successfully pushing tariffs on hot rolled steel in the government, Indian metallurgists came up with the idea to impose import duties on coated steel. Business Standard writes about this with reference to Seshagiri Rao, CFO of JSW Steel group.

“To curb steel imports, we need to restrict them throughout the value chain, not just hot rolled steel. Based on this, we turned to the government with a request to impose duties on coated steel, and a decision is already expected, ”the publication quotes Mr. Rao.

Indian metallurgists expect that over time the government will introduce protective duties on the rest of the metal products. Cold rolled steel, galvanized steel and wire rod rebar should also be taxed, JSW Steel said.

JSW Steel's commercial director, Jayant Acharya, said that after the introduction of protective duties on hot rolled steel in September, imports of cold rolled steel rose sharply. According to him, this eloquently proves the need to introduce duties on the entire range of rolled metal products produced in India.

However, industrial consumers of metal products in India are extremely concerned about the plans of metallurgists to obtain additional income from, for example, mechanical engineering. The Indian Producers Federation warns that the appetite of the Jindal family and other oligarchs for the steel industry could constrict market supply and drive prices up.

In the event of the introduction of duties and an increase in prices for cold-rolled coils and coated steel in India, up to 3 million tons of rolling capacities for corrugated board and metal tiles may stop, the Federation warned. In addition, the actions of metallurgists can ruin the companies that trade in steel on the domestic market.

According to market participants, after the introduction of duties on galvanizing, the Indian market will be flooded with corrugated board made in China and other metal products from China. At the same time, Indian steel will increasingly be exported without processing at home.

Earlier it was reported that the Indian government is considering doubling import duties on aluminum from 5 to 10 percent.