Posted on 28 Feb 2025
India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has postponed the oral hearing for its ongoing anti-dumping investigation on imports of hot rolled flat products from Vietnam, Kallanish notes.
“The oral hearing has been postponed due to official exigencies. The new date and meeting link will be communicated in due course,” the authority says in a notification dated 27 February.
The hybrid oral hearing was originally scheduled on 27 February (see Kallanish passim). DGTR is the commerce ministry’s investigative body.
In August 2024, India initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of hot rolled flat products from Vietnam, following a complaint filed by the Indian Steel Association (ISA).
The probe focused on hot rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel, not clad, not plated or coated, of a thickness up to 25mm and width up to 2,100mm. The move came on the heels of Vietnam launching a probe on HRC from India and China (see Kallanish passim).
The postponement of the probe’s hearing comes within days of Vietnam imposing preliminary anti-dumping duties of 19.38-27.83% on Chinese hot rolled coil, but waiving duties on Indian HRC.
Last week, India’s Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) issued the BIS licence certificate for Vietnamese steelmaker Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel Joint Stock Company, marking its entry into India.
In early February, BIS also renewed its license for Vietnam steelmaker Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, which previously expired in December 2024 (see Kallanish passim).
Market participants were not caught off guard by the move, as they anticipated an anti-dumping duty on Vietnam being unlikely at present. However, some sources believe the delay suggests a greater chance of a safeguard duty being introduced by the government.
A domestic trader says: “Safeguards will come, [as it is still the] most likely scenario.”
Source:Kallanish
