Jindal Stainless seeks govt intervention to check surging steel imports

Stainless steel maker Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) has sought the government's intervention to check increasing imports of steel products from a select group of countries including China.

Select few countries including China are flooding the domestic market with their products, Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal said.

"We urge the government to take some steps to check these imports. The government can put anti-dumping duty (ADD) and countervailing duty (CVD) on the import of the items," he said.

According to official data, the Share of China, Japan, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Nepal and the USA increased in total steel imports of India in June 2023 as compared to June 2022.

India's steel imports rose 7.6 per cent to 4.84 lakh metric tonne during June 2023, over the same month last year. In June 2022, the import from China was 26.1 per cent and Vietnam was 1 per cent.

However, in June 2023, the import from China contributed 37.1 per cent and Vietnam's share was 4.8 per cent in India's steel import basket.

When asked about having a separate policy structure for the stainless steel sector, the industrialist said "it is a long standing demand of the industry. The rules and policies made for the steel sector impacts us despite our situation."

The Indian stainless steel industry is operating well below its capacity, it needs government support for level-playing field.

The industry awaits a positive decision by the government on imposing a countervailing duty (CVD) to curb dumping of mass and subsidized stainless steel in India by China.