US President George W Bush has slapped tariffs of 8 per cent to 30 per cent on several variants of imported steel in an effort to aid the ailing US steel industry. The penalty exempts certain US trading partners such as Canada and Mexico as well as a handful of impoverished nations.
The hardest-hit nations include China, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine and Russia. On steel slabs, there will be no tariffs on the first 5.4 million tonne imported for three years. However, a 30 per cent tariff on additional tonnage will be imposed.
With the prevailing anti-dumping duty, which has already hit Indian exports, the tariffs imply a virtual closure of the US market for hot-rolled products. However, it is still not clear as to how the tariffs will affect India.
Indian steel makers seem to have taken the US announcement in their stride. B Muthuraman, managing director of Tata Steel, said:
