Anil Agarwal asks govt to raise import duty on primary, scrap aluminium

Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal Monday asked the government to increase import duty on primary and scrap aluminium to 10 per cent, noting that India was becoming a dumping ground amid ongoing tariff war between the US and China.

At present, the basic customs duty on primary aluminium is 7.5 per cent while the same on aluminium scrap is 2.5 per cent.

"As the US and China are enhancing import duty on aluminium scrap to protect their domestic industry, India is becoming a dumping ground, evident from over 140 per cent jump in scrap import last quarter, unheard of in the industry," Agarwal said in a tweet.

"Time for immediate action like raising import duty of primary and scrap aluminium to 10 per cent to support domestic industry," he tweeted while tagging the twitter handles of PMO and the prime minister.

Vedanta Ltd, a Vedanta group firm, is a leading aluminium producer in the country.

In March, the US imposed a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imports.

In April, China also slapped new tariffs on 128 US products, including pork and fruits, worth about USD 3 billion in response to the duties.

The domestic aluminium industry has raised concern that India is becoming a victim of the escalating trade war between the US and China.

India's aluminium scrap import jumped 21.44 per cent to 6,57,000 tonnes during the first half of 2018-19 from 541,000 tonnes in April-September period of 2017-18, according to the Aluminium Association of India (AAI).

The AAI had also urged the government to increase the duty on imports of aluminium scrap to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports.