India’s trade defence arm, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), has recommended a 12% safeguard duty on imports of certain varieties of steel for the next three years.
The recommendation, issued late last night, confirms the provisional 12% safeguard duty imposed on April 21 this year for 200 days on the same products. The DGTR’s findings will now be considered and notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) under the Department of Revenue.
Hot rolled coils, sheets and plates, hot rolled plate mill plates, cold rolled coils and sheets, metallic coated steel coils and sheets, and colour coated coils and sheets have been covered by this order.
Exemptions and price thresholds
However, if the import price of these five products is above the price mentioned in the notification then no safeguard duty will be imposed. If the import price of hot rolled coil, sheets and plates is $ 675 per metric tonne and of colour coated coils and sheets is $ 964 per tonne or more no safeguard duty will be payable. A similar threshold has been imposed on the other three products.
The safeguard probe was launched in December last year after a complaint from the Indian Steel Alliance, representing members such as ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel, JSW Steel, Bhushan Power and Steel, and Steel Authority of India (SAIL). Preliminary findings and provisional duties were issued in March. Imports from developing countries, except China and Vietnam, will remain exempt from these safeguard measures.
Industry impact and opposition
The affected steel products are widely used in general engineering, fabrication, pipe manufacturing, construction, capital goods, automotive, bicycles, appliances, furniture, electrical panels, packaging, drums, renewable energy, and barrels.
Specialty steels such as tinplate, stainless steel, and steels used in electronics have been excluded from the additional duties.
The safeguard duty will be 12% in the first year, 11.5% in the second year, and 11% in the third year.
Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) that also made submissions during the probe argued imports were predictable, not “sudden” and that domestic injury was overstated; and that duties would cripple auto, engineering, and construction sectors.
DGTR dismissed these arguments, citing clear evidence of price undercutting. GTRI countered that India remains a net steel importer — with FY25 demand at 137.82 MT versus production of 132.89 MT — and imports are essential to meet shortages. It also pointed to strong margins: Tata Steel’s 21% EBITDA in India and SAIL’s 11.6%. Far from being under distress, firms were thriving, GTRI said, warning that new duties alongside Quality Control Orders risk cartelisation.