The government will continue to deploy trade remedial measures to protect the domestic steel industry from dumping and unfair import practices, while balancing the interests of downstream industries that depend heavily on steel as a key raw material, Director General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) and Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Amitabh Kumar said on Wednesday.
Speaking on the issue of steel imports, Kumar emphasised that while several trade remedial measures are already in force, investigations into additional cases are underway to curb unfair imports.
"Some trade remedial measures are already in force for steel imports, while others are under investigation to minimise unfair imports. We need to produce steel because it is an economic imperative for our growth. At the same time, steel is a critical input for domestic industries. Therefore, when trade remedial measures are imposed on unfair imports of steel, they may affect some users. That balance has to be maintained," he said.
The domestic steel industry has repeatedly flagged concerns over dumping by countries such as China, Japan and South Korea. According to official data, imports of finished steel more than doubled over the last five years, rising from 4.7 million tonnes in 2020-21 to 9.5 million tonnes in 2024-25.
To strengthen oversight of imports, the government revamped the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) and launched SIMS 2.0 in July 2024, aimed at improving surveillance and addressing concerns raised by domestic manufacturers.
Several anti-dumping duties are currently in force on steel products imported from countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
In addition, the government imposed a provisional safeguard duty of 12% for 200 days on imports of select non-alloy and alloy steel flat products with effect from April 21, 2025, to protect domestic producers from a surge in imports.