Indian steelmakers grapple with resurgence of cheap Chinese imports

NEW DELHI: China’s finished steel exports to India more than doubled in April to the highest in at least two years, sparking worries among the latter’s steelmakers that despite the imposition of import tariffs they will be swamped by cheaply priced products.

Provisional Indian government data reviewed by Reuters showed China shipped in around 232,000 metric tons of finished steel in April and emerged as the top exporter of such steel to the South Asian nation.

That is despite India, the world’s second-biggest crude steel producer, imposing import tariffs in December on some grades for a period of three years that had managed to slow imports from China.

Imports of finished steel products into India from China were primarily hot-rolled coils, followed by stainless steel products, the data showed.