India’s trade remedy body has recommended a three-year protection to the domestic steel industry by imposing a safeguard duty at the rate of 11-12 per cent, after concluding that there is ‘a recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports’ causing ‘serious injury’ to Indian manufacturers.
The rate of duty, if approved by the finance ministry, will be 12 per cent in the first year, gradually sliding to 11.5 per cent in the second and 11 per cent in the third year, according to the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which works under the ministry of commerce.
The DGTR had earlier slapped a 12 per cent provisional duty for 200 days on April 21, 2025, despite protests from the user industries such as engineering and automobile.
The steel industry, on the contrary, has been clamouring for at least 25 per
cent safeguard duty to ward off cheap imports.
The duty would be applicable to hot rolled coils, sheets and plates, cold rolled coils and sheets, colour coated coils and sheets and steel coated with zinc, aluminium, magnesium, etc. However, the duty would not be imposed if they land in India over a threshold price on a CIF basis.
Stainless steel, tinplate, electrical steels and a few other products would not be covered by this recommendation.
Naveen Jindal, President of Indian Steel Association, said recommendation of a safeguard duty on flat steel imports for three years is a welcome step.
“While the proposed 12 per cent duty may not fully reflect the geopolitical context where 25 per cent is often considered the norm, it demonstrates clear government support for using such measures to promote Aatmanirbhar Bharat in steel,” he said.
Public interest
The final recommendation from the commerce ministry arm states that it is in the public interest to impose the measure.
“A vibrant steel industry has historically been the foundation of a nation’s rapid industrial development,” DGTR noted, adding that the industry contributed approximately 2 per cent to the country’s GDP and employed about 5 lakh people directly and about 20 lakh people indirectly.
The National Steel Policy envisages 300 mt capacity by 2030, which will require additional investment of ₹10 lakh crore through the decade, but the return on investment of the companies has declined in the face of cheap imports.
