India imposed a 20 percent tax on imports of Hot Rolled Flat Products of Stainless Steel

India imposed a 20 percent tax on imports of Hot Rolled Flat
Products of Stainless Steel from China to protect local producers. The
duty on hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel will last for 200 days, the
customs department said in a Jan. 4 notification posted today on its website. 

The taxes will also apply to steel products having a minimum nickel content of
6 percent and those containing chromium, with or without the presence of other
elements such as molybdenum and titanium, the notice said.

Indian
steelmakers are contending with imports as global demand falters, prompting
producers in China, South Korea and Japan to tap overseas markets.
Imports from April to November surged 19.6 percent to more than 5 million
metric tons, India’s steel ministry said on Dec. 6.

“More and
more countries are raising trade barriers amid the weak global economy,” Li
Xinchuang, president of China’s Metallurgical Industry Planning & Research
Institute, said to Reuters. “I am quite concerned about this and don’t see any
reason why India should impose a 20 percent import tax,” said Li, who is also a
deputy general secretary of the China Iron & Steel Association.

Last
year, China exported about 45,000 tons of hot-rolled stainless flat steel to
India, or 5.4 percent of China’s global shipment of the product, worth about
$134 million, said Xu Xiangchun, Beijing-based chief analyst with researcher
Mysteel.com. “It’s quite a small amount to affect Chinese producers,” Xu said. 

Source: Reuters