India has imposed a 12% safeguard duty on alloy and non-alloy steel flat products for 200 days, according to a Ministry of Finance notification published in the Gazette of India on April 21.
The safeguard duty is imposed on hot-rolled coils, sheets, and plates, hot-rolled plate mill plates, cold-rolled coils and sheets and metallic-coated steel coils and sheets, including galvanneal, coated with zinc or aluminum-zinc or zinc-aluminium-magnesium and color-coated coils and sheets, falling under HS codes 7208, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212, 7225 and 7226, according to the notification.
India first initiated the safeguard investigation Dec. 19, 2024, citing serious injury to the domestic industry due to the imports. On March 18, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies recommended a 12% safeguard duty on the above-mentioned steel products for a period of 200 days.
The domestic steel industry had been calling for protectionist measures from the government amid a high inflow of cheaper steel imports in recent years that weighed on domestic demand and pulled down steel prices to a multi-year low.
"I welcome the 12% safeguard duty on imported steel flat products. This will protect Indian manufacturers, ensure fair competition, and boost our domestic industry," India's Minister of Steel H. D. Kumaraswamy said on a post in X, formerly known as Twitter, April 21.
The safeguard duty will be applicable on imports from China and Vietnam, according to the notification, and for a period of 200 days from the date of publication of the notification and shall be payable in Indian currency.
The notification also clarified that the duty will not apply to steel products priced above certain thresholds to mitigate injury risks and ensure fair selling prices. These thresholds are set at or above $675/mt CIF for HR coils, sheets and plates; $695/mt CIF for HR plate mill plates; $824/mt for CR coils and sheets; $861/mt for metallic-coated steel coils and sheets; and $964/mt for color-coated coils and sheets.
The safeguard duty was long awaited by market participants and is expected to provide support to prices by keeping a floor in the near term
