| Company | Value | Change | %Change |
|---|
A temporary levy of 15% to 25% on Chinese imports is likely within the next six months, according to Reuters report quoting the Janata Dal (Secular) leader who is part of the coalition in New Delhi. The comment triggered a rally in metal stocks. Earlier, on Jan 10, Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik said that a decision on the safeguard duty was expected in 2-3 weeks.
Prices as of 1:43 pm on Feb 13.
India’s finished steel imports rose to an all-time high of 8.3 million tonnes in the first 10 months of the financial year that started in April, according to provisional government data reviewed by Reuters on Thursday. That’s an increase of 20.3% from a year earlier.”Today, Chinese steel, which is nearly 60% surplus capacity, comes via Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia to India at zero duty, said Sajjan Jindal of JSW Group in January,” Sajjan Jindal of JSW Group told CNBC-TV18 earlier in January.
Despite being the world’s second-largest producer of steel, India turned a net importer of steel in the financial year ended March 2024. Bulk of the imported steel came from China triggering an investigation by the Narendra Modi administration.
India’s annual steel imports in China have gone from 60 to 70 million tonnes to over 100 million tonnes in recent years, according to Tata Steel’s Executive Director and CFO, Kaushik Chatterjee. “”There are almost about 30 countries doing an investigation on China. We need to see as to how the Indian government plays up,” Chatterjee told CNBC-TV18 on February 5.
However, any tariff on imported inputs lead to a rise in the cost of production too. A duty of over 10% will lead to inflation, warned Tushar Chaudhari, research analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher, in conversation with the Informist, a news agency.
First Published: Feb 13, 2025 2:05 PM IS
