Athira Sethu
Kochi, 31 Dec 2025
The Indian government has taken the decision to apply a three-year import tariff on some steel items ranging from 11 to 12 percent. This is primarily to curb the increase in the importation of steel from China, which has been flooding the Indian market with cheap steel. The import tariff will start from 12 percent in the first year, then fall to 11.5 percent in the second year, and finally reduce to 11 percent in the third year. The import tariff on steel will not be applied to all forms of steel products. Certain specialized steel products such as stainless steel are not covered by the import tariff, while some developing countries are also exempted from the import tariff, except China, Vietnam, and Nepal.
India, which ranks as the second-largest producer of crude steel, has been facing an influx of cheap steel imports, particularly from China. This cheap steel has been causing problems for domestic steel producers, making it hard for them to compete. There was fear of “dumping,” which refers to when foreign firms set their products at too-cheap-to-sell-it prices as a means of undermining competition. The government of India needs to shield its steel industry from unfair competition, and it was proposed by the DGTR that an increased tariff rate be imposed because of an alarming surge in imports that can damage its steel industry.
Earlier this year, the Indian government had imposed a temporary tariff of 12% upon the import of steel products for a period of 200 days, until November of this year. This new tariff applies for a period of three years.
This is part of a bigger trend that is taking place globally. Many countries are starting to impose stricter trade policies because of the rise of Chinese steel exports. This is because Chinese steel exports increased following the decision by the United States to impose tariffs on Chinese steel during the presidency of Donald Trump. Chinese steel is now being shipped to other nations such as India, South Korea, and Vietnam, which have imposed anti-dumping policies on Chinese steel.
