Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Central Government has implemented a 12% safeguard tariff on specific flat steel goods for 200 days, starting on April 21, 2025, in a clear attempt to protect its own steel sector from a flood of low-priced imports. 78% of India’s completed steel imports in the fiscal year 2024–2025 came from China, South Korea, and Japan; this interim policy attempts to reduce the flood of low-cost steel imports.
The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recommended this duty following an investigation initiated in December 2024. The probe revealed that the sharp increase in imports of non-alloy and alloy steel flat products was causing significant injury to domestic producers. India, the world’s second-largest crude steel producer, became a net importer of finished steel for the second consecutive year, with imports reaching a nine-year high of 9.5 million metric tons in 2024-25.
The safeguard duty is expected to provide much-needed relief to domestic steelmakers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, who have faced immense pressure from rising imports. Industry leaders, including JSW Steel, Tata Steel, the Steel Authority of India, and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, have supported the imposition of import curbs. Naveen Jindal, President of the Indian Steel Association and Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power, was pivotal in advocating for this safeguard duty.
He stated, “We are grateful for the government’s decisive move to impose a 12% safeguard duty on flat steel products, much needed to stop imports arriving at predatory prices. This support will help investors to focus with renewed vigour for a capacity build-up towards 300 million tons by 2030 for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat and will set the cornerstone for a Viksit Bharat.”
