The union steel ministry has recommended an increase in steel import duty from the current 5 per cent to safeguard the domestic industry from cheaper imports. While not mentioning the exact recommendation, Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the industry has demanded a 15 per cent duty.
“Apart from the adverse fall out of lower domestic demand, the Indian producers are also faced with the problem of intense global competition from cheap imports. The 5 per cent duty imposed in October is not sufficient”, Paswan said at a steel summit here.
The sharp fall in international prices of steel and higher prices of imported inputs such as coking coal have added to the woes of the Indian producers, he added.