The Indian government will not rush the imposition of a minimum import price for steel despite the fact that it is being pushed aggressively by the Ministry of Steel as protection for domestic steel mills, a senior government official said on Friday, January 8.
The official said that the imposition of a minimum import price falls within the domain of the Ministry of Commerce, which has said that “a balance will need to be struck between ensuring availability of cheap inputs for heavy manufacturing and import protection for local steel mills, and a minimum import price could only be notified after consultation with all stakeholders.”
The government official said that the Ministry of Commerce is also keen on making a detailed impact analysis of the devaluation of the Chinese currency, which could boost the flow of cheaper imports ,with the depreciating Indian rupee offering some protection from such imports.
The Indian steel industry, which has been lobbying for a minimum import price with the Ministry of Steel, was expecting an announcement in January but it is unlikely that the Ministry of Commerce will set any specific timeframe for putting in play such protection, the official added.