NEW DELHI: India has extended safeguard import taxes on some steel products until March 2018, a government order said on Wednesday, as it looks to curb imports of cheap Chinese steel and shield domestic mills.
China last year increased its exports of steel products as demand slowed at home, leading to increased regulatory scrutiny and new duties in markets such as India and the European Union, as well as anti-dumping investigations.
India last September imposed provisional safeguard import duties on some steel products for 200 days, and last month set a floor price on imports to deter countries such as China from undercutting local mills, the first such move in more than 15 years.
The order said the extended duty will apply to hot-rolled flat products of non-alloy and other alloy steel in coils of 600 mm width. It would start at 20 percent, minus any existing anti-dumping duty, and be lowered to 10 percent by March 2018 depending on the value of the goods.
The safeguard tax will not be imposed on steel products imported at or above the floor price. The chief of the Directorate General of Safeguards, a division of the finance ministry, earlier this month recommended a 20 percent import tax on some products.
