Final Decision: Safeguard Duty to Continue on HRC

In its final findings in Safeguard duty case on HRC, DG Safeguards (DGS) have decided to continue safeguard duty on HRC imports till March 2018.

In order to prevent cheap import influx of HRC specially from China, Japan, Korea, and CIS countries, on 14 Sep’15, DG Safeguards (DGS) imposed 20% provisional safeguard duty on ‘Hot Rolled Flat products of non-alloy and other alloy Steel in coils of width of 600mm or more’, for 200 days.

However, safeguard duty didn’t prove to be effective in restricting cheap HRC imports in to India. And on 5 Feb’16, the government came out with another trade barrier in the form of Minimum Import Price (MIP). MIP was levied on 173 steel products including HRC.

Market participants were expecting safeguard duty to discontinue after MIP imposition, however DGFT’s decision to continue safeguard duty on HRC along with MIP shows government’s intention to protect steel industry from cheap imports.

Safeguard Duty Slabs

An important point that has been notified in the final findings of DGFT is that HRC imports from all developing countries except China and Ukraine will not attract any safeguard duty. The reason being HRC imports from developing nations accounts for less than 9% of India’s total HRC imports.

Also, safeguard duty will not be imposed on imports from Turkey with effect from 2 Feb’16.

Products Excluded from Safeguard duty

1. Hot-rolled flat products of steel with nominal width less than 600mm
2. API grade steel
3. Silicon electrical steel
4. Hot-rolled flat products of steel of spring steel quality
5. Hot-rolled flat products of steel which are electrolytically plated or coated with zinc
6. Hot-rolled flat products of steel otherwise plated or coated with zinc
7. Hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel 

Final Findings by DGFT