New Delhi: The government is currently evaluating the possibility of increasing safety duty on steel from 12%, by current 12%, among concerns that Chinese goods can enter the market and hurt Indian steel manufacturers.A senior government official told TOI, “We have received complaints from Chinese players, who are trying to blunt the impact of safety action by ignoring it. We are considering various options.”In late April, the government reported an provisional security fee of 12% for 200 days, and would require a detailed investigation before a high fee is imposed.In many markets, especially with Chinese goods facing levy and other functions in the US, there are broader fears of trade turning with India, which are seen as one of the markets where these goods can be dumped or sold at subsidized prices.India, the world’s second largest crude steel producer, was also a pure importer of steel prepared for the second consecutive year in 2024–25. The import is estimated to be near a 10 million tonnes mark. However, small players are complaining about the adverse effects of safety protection action as they have to deal with high costs due to price increase by domestic manufacturers after security action. Sources said that the government will try to balance between the two sides.
