Jindal Wants Duty On Chinese Imports
JSL wants to put a tax on Chinese stainless steel. This tax already existed before. It is called countervailing duty. It stopped in 2017, but JSL wants to bring it back. JSL is the biggest stainless steel maker in India.
Indian imports cost at least 19 per cent more compared to Chinese imports.
JSL wrote to the Revenue Secretary, Sanjay Malhotra, to ask for protection for Indian businesses. They said that China became the top net exporter of stainless steel flat products in 2010. China made so much more than they needed, and the extra went to other countries. The excess was sold cheaply, and with subsidies from the Chinese government. Indian businesses suffered because of this.
The letter was sent to the Ministry of Steel. A copy was also sent.
JSL said that some countries placed duty on imports from China. Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Vietnam and EU nations are some of them. They placed duty on items like cold rolled coils and stainless steel strip. They did this from 2013.
JSL is the second Indian company to raise the issue. SAIL was the first.
The DGTR checked things out and discovered that Chinese shipments into India went way up - by 44% on a yearly basis - when CVD was stopped in February 2021. From January to September 2022, this jumped to 49% (annually).
SAIL talked about an investigation done by DGTR. The investigation found that 200 series products from China were subsidized and caused harm. Market share fell by 20-30% for players involved. This happened because of the Chinese products.
JSL wrote about the series 200 flat product grades. They said 50% of imports were cheaper than what Indian industry pays. Also, one third of imports were cheaper than the raw materials cost in India. Businessline has a copy of the letter.
Sources say that raw materials and power make up 80% of the total cost. In India, raw material cost ranges from 60-70% and is determined by the market. Meanwhile, in China, the government controls raw material cost, giving Chinese mills an edge. Power cost is still under government control in both nations.
The company said it had low capacity use of 77% due to imports. They also made losses in 200 series grades which were against Chinese imports.
JSL said imports are harming Indian industry. There's big damage. SAIL's Salem unit has low use and must be sold. BRG Iron and Steel is in trouble and was bought by Rimjhim Ispat. Rimjhim Ispat, Lohia Alloys and Valley Iron and Steel aren't used much. Shah Alloys is in BIFR and has low use. Small businesses are struggling the most.
Experts say that downstream businesses have lower import intensity. This means that they don't rely heavily on imported products. Without competition from imports, they have the advantage of being able to increase or decrease prices as they please.
