Indian steelmakers call for increased tariffs on imports from China

The slowdown in the Chinese construction industry has led to an increase in the export of Chinese steel products to world markets. India's imports of Chinese steel have more than doubled over the past year. As a result, domestic steel producers in India have called on the government to halt the accelerating pace of steel imports by raising tariffs on steel imports into the country.

China reports a slowdown in steel demand caused by a slowdown in the country's economy. Although production volumes have become lower, traders in the country still have huge volumes of shipments abroad. India and Southeast Asia are major destinations for Chinese steel, especially due to weak demand in Europe and the imposition of anti-dumping duties by the US Department of Commerce (DOC). According to statistics, China's steel imports in India rose 128 percent last year to 2.83 million tons. China has become the largest exporter to India.

Steelmakers in India believe the country will see good steel demand in the coming months due to infrastructure reforms announced by the government. In order to take advantage of the situation, domestic plants are planning to ramp up production, and the dumping of cheap steel could hurt the growth prospects of domestic metallurgical plants in the country.

Earlier, the Indian Minister of Mines and Ferrous Metals said that the government will decide on import taxes in the upcoming budget. This will ensure that the issue of control over steel imports is considered through the announcement of an anti-dumping policy or additional increases in import duties.