India's steel ministry will not tighten import curbs despite industry pleas

India's steel ministry has signaled that it will not pursue additional measures to limit low-priced steel imports, despite a petition from local mills to lift the safeguard duty beyond the existing 11.5%. Imports of finished steel surged 29.5% from April to August, reaching 3.5 million metric tons, with China accounting for 31.8% of that flow. The government launched an anti-dumping investigation in June targeting hot-rolled steel from China, Japan and Russia, but no new tariffs are expected while domestic steel prices stay elevated.

The steel secretary recently highlighted imports as a challenge, and analysts note that higher imports could pressure margins if competition intensifies. Meanwhile, Indian steel producers have raised prices, buoyed by rising coking-coal costs and renewed demand from infrastructure and the auto sector, where vehicle sales jumped sharply in September.