India's steel import policy criticized at WTO

India's decision to set minimum prices on imported pig iron and steel, as well as to impose emergency "guarantee" tariffs on some imported steel products, was widely criticized at a meeting of the World Trade Organization Council, a WTO official said.

Japan drew attention to India on this issue and was supported by representatives from Taiwan, Canada, Australia, the European Union and South Korea. A Japanese spokesman said at a closed-door meeting that the minimum import prices announced by India on February 5 for more than 170 products have had a significant negative impact on Japan's exports and are clearly not in line with WTO rules, the official said. Japan also criticized the "guarantee" tariff imposed by India on hot rolled products in order to protect its industry from the growth of imports of these products.

At the same time, Indian steel imports jumped 18.2 percent, and domestic companies JSW Steel, Tata Steel and others have stepped up pressure on the government to strengthen protection against competing supplies from China, as well as Russia, Japan and South Korea.

The US representative at the WTO meeting also expressed concern about import tariffs and the growth of budget lines in India. India has also raised customs duties on imports of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, introduced mandatory registration of orders for certain electronic products, and requires certain foreign products to be retested in India to its own standards, which are identical to foreign standards, a US spokesman said at the meeting.

The representative of India argues that India takes its WTO commitments very seriously. He said that it is premature to raise the issue of minimum import prices in the WTO Council, it is necessary to first discuss it in subsidiary committees, according to a WTO official.