Hike import duty on all steel products to 10%: ASSOCHAM

22 Mar 2012 Evaluate

Indian industry body, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has called for a hike in import duty on all steel products to 10%. Taking cognizance of the recently raised import duty on non alloy flat steel products (from 5% to 7.5%), it has stated that this does not include the alloy steel category and hence fails to address the issue holistically.

Domestic steel producers have been facing stiff competition from Chinese imports which have grown by 120% from October 2011 to February 2012 (as compared to the same period previous year). China is the world’s largest producer of steel and has an excess capacity of 135 million tonnes (mt). This is almost twice the annual of steel production of India which stands at 70 mt.

Moreover, it exports a large quantity of boron-treated hot-rolled coils, sheets and plates that conform to the alloy steel category and hence has been left out in the budget. Additionally, China also offers an export incentive at 9% of export value to its manufacturers. Hence, as per ASSOCHAM, it is necessary that the government address the issue in a holistic manner and raise the import duty on all steel products by at least 10%.

China is the world's largest steel exporter, forming about 50 mt, or about 20% of the global steel trade. In addition, China exports almost 70% of the quantity to its neighboring countries across east, south and central Asia and Australia.

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