India’s Ministry of Commerce has clarified that the minimum import price for steel products imposed last week will be valid for six months and thereafter the domestic steel industry will have to file antidumping cases for long-term import protection, a ministry official said on Thursday, February 11.
The official said that the minimum import price was only a temporary measure offered to domestic steel mills and could not be a long-term solution to rising imports without attracting retaliatory measures before the World Trade Organization (WTO).
However, at the same time, the Ministry of Commerce is working on to expand the list of steel products which had been brought under the minimum import price, the official said. He added that some steel product categories had been “overlooked” when drawing up the first list of products brought under the minimum import price and another 40 product categories will be added to the initial list of 70.
The expanded list of steel products under the minimum import price is expected to be announced in April when the Ministry of Commerce announces the annual review of India’s trade policy, he added.