Naveen Jindal hails 12pc safeguard duty on steel imports as a milestone for Aatmanirbhar Bharat

IN a significant move aimed at protecting India's domestic steel industry from a surge in low-priced imports, the Government of India has imposed a 12 percent safeguard duty on select flat steel products for a period of 200 days, effective April 21, 2025. This temporary tariff seeks to curb the inflow of cheap steel, primarily from China, South Korea, and Japan, which together accounted for 78 percent of India's finished steel imports in FY 2024-25.

- PBD BUREAU

The decision follows a recommendation by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which launched an investigation in December 2024.

The probe concluded that the sharp rise in imports of non-alloy and alloy flat steel products was causing serious injury to domestic manufacturers. India, the world's second-largest crude steel producer, became a net importer of finished steel for the second consecutive year, with imports hitting a nine-year high of 9.5 million metric tons in FY 2024-25.