India Places Antidumping Duties on HR from 6 Countries

Duties of $474 per tonne were imposed on imports of HR flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel of a width up to 2,100 mm and thickness up to 25 mm. Imports of HR flat-rolled sheet and plate of a width up to 4,950 mm and thickness up to 150 mm received duties of $557 per tonne.

The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (DGAD) said it “has come to the provisional conclusion that the subject goods have been exported to India from the subject countries below normal value (and) the domestic industry has suffered material injury.”

“The ADD is welcome but the duration of six months will bring no stability for the industry,” said Sanak Mishra, secretary-general of Indian Steel Association. “Since ADD has been imposed on HR sheets a similar duty on cold-rolled products should also be on its way.”

The complaint against imports from the countries was filed by Essar Steel India, Steel Authority of India and JSW Steel.

Last week the DGAD extended cut the minimum import price for two months on 66 steel products trimmed from a list of 137. The MIP range continued at $341 to $742 a tonne for the remaining products.

The products that had safeguards or antidumping duties were removed from the list. DGAD then removed safeguards from 37 of those products including flat-rolled and hot rolled steel.

“The MIP and safeguard duty are product- and country-specific. There needs to be a measure that will cover the value chain and anti-dumping looks like the right measure,” said Ritesh Shah, senior analyst with Investec Securities is quoted by Business Standard. “If not across the value chain, secondary producers will find it difficult to survive.”