India informs WTO about safeguard probe against steel products

India has informed the WTO that it has initiated a safeguard investigation against certain varieties of steel imports to protect domestic players from in cheap shipments.
India, a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), informed the WTO's Committee on Safeguards about the probe.
"On 15 September, India notified the WTO's Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 7 September a safeguard investigation on hot-rolled flat products of non-alloy and other alloy steel," WTO has said in a statement.
In the notification, India has indicated that "all interested parties may make their views known within a period of 30 days from the date of the notice issued (i.E. September 7, 2015) by the Director General (Safeguards)".

To protect domestic steel sector that is grappling with low demand and high supplies, India imposed a 20 per cent provisional safeguard duty on certain categories of the metal for 200 days, during which period the inquiry would be completed by the Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS).
Domestic steel producers, including state-run SAIL and private players Essar Steel and JSW Steel had complained of a surge in imports of steel products like hot-rolled steel and other variants from China, Korea, Japan and Russia.

According to DGS, the market share of domestic producers has been declining since 2013-14 and is likely to fall from 45 per cent to 37 per cent in 2015-16.

A safeguard investigation seeks to determine whether increased imports of a product are causing, or is threatening to cause, serious injury to a domestic industry.
During a safeguard investigation, importers, exporters and other interested parties may present evidence and views and respond to the presentations of other parties.
A WTO member may take a safeguard action (i.E. Restrict imports of a product temporarily) only if the increased imports of the product are found to be causing, or threatening to cause, serious injury.