The Indian government has decided to remove anti-dumping duties on imports of hot-rolled flat products originating in or exported from China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia.

The decision goes against the recommendation of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) on 14 September to impose anti-dumping duties on the said products, Kallanish notes.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (5) of section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, read with rules 18 and 23 of the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 … the Central Government, after considering the aforesaid final findings of the designated authority, has decided not to accept the aforesaid recommendations,” says India’s finance ministry.

The products under consideration were hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel in coils of a width up to 2,100mm and thickness up to 25mm. Also included are hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel not in coils – commonly known as sheet and plate – of a width up to 4,950mm and thickness up to 150mm. The scope excludes stainless steel, steel that is electrolytically plated or coated with zinc, steel otherwise plated or coated with zinc, and cladded steel.

“The removal of duties is unlikely to impact the Indian HRC market,” says a senior HRC trader. "All the imported steel needs to adhere to Bureau of Indian Standards [specifications], which the foreign-made steel lacks. Also, owing to the previous anti-dumping duty on HRC, many importers didn't renew their BIS certification ... which, again, will add up the cost if they renew it now to import HRC."

DGTR recommended the continuation of anti-dumping measures for a further period of five years. It also recommended imposing a 7.5% basic customs duty on imports of subject goods, if the landed cost surpasses the amount assigned by the authority. This amount was $478-489/tonne, based on the origin and supplier, for hot-rolled flat steel in coils of a width up to 2,100mm, and thickness up to 25mm. It was $561/t for hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel not in coils of a width up to 4,950mm and thickness up to 150mm.