Posted on 19 Aug 2025
The Indian commerce ministry’s trade investigative arm, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the imposition of a safeguard duty on non-alloy and alloy flat steel product imports for a period of three years, extending beyond the provisional 200-day measure announced earlier this year, Kallanish notes.
As per DGTR’s final findings, the duty will be imposed at 12% in the first year, declining to 11.5% in the second year and 11% in the third year. The phased reduction is intended to give domestic producers adjustment time while gradually liberalising trade.
"In view of the findings above, the Authority concludes that there is a recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports of PUC [products under consideration] into India at the cumulative level as a result of unforeseen developments and the effect of obligations under GATT [General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade], causing and threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic industry / producers of PUC," DGTR says.
This differs from the earlier March 2025 preliminary recommendation, which proposed a provisional safeguard duty of 12% for only 200 days (see Kallanish passim). That temporary measure, which was imposed in April and valid until 7 November 2025, has now been converted into a full three-year safeguard with a declining duty structure.
The duty remains applicable to the same five categories of flat steel products: hot rolled (HR) coils, sheets and plates, HR plate mill plates, cold rolled (CR) coils and sheets, metallic coated sheets, and colour coated sheets. The price-based exemption rule also remains in place with imports above the minimum import price (MIP) levels on a CIF basis not attracting the duty.
The exemption thresholds also remain as it is at $675/tonne for HR coil/sheet/plate, $695/t for HR plate mill plate, $824/t for CR coil/sheet, $861/t for coated steel sheet and $964/t for colour coated sheet.
India’s major producers, AMNS India, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and SAIL, filed the petition citing low-priced imports from China, South Korea and Japan as a key concern.
The shift from a short-term safeguard to a multi-year framework marks a significant escalation in India’s trade defence strategy. By retaining the MIP-linked exemptions, policymakers aim to strike a balance between protecting domestic mills and ensuring critical supplies for downstream users.
The duty is set to remain in force until August 2028, unless reviewed earlier.
Industry market reaction to the move is mixed, with sources saying the multi-year structure is unlikely to impact the market in the near term due to the duty remaining at similar levels and no changes in the MIP.
A trader notes: “I believe, there will not be any impact on domestic market… as there is no change in MIP and [safeguard] duty applicable.”
However, some sources believe this will at least help provide some price support. A market participant adds, “prices will stay firm now.”
Meanwhile, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) opposes the move in its latest report seen by Kallanish. GTRI warns “it [safeguard duty extension] would raise input costs, hurt export competitiveness, and squeeze downstream users.”
Source:Kallanish
