India is not contemplating ban on steel imports from China even as inward shipment from the world's largest steel producing nation has nearly trebled to over 2.9 million tonnes during the April-January period.
Minister of State for Steel and Mines Vishnu Deo Sai answered in the negative to a question in Rajya Sabha on whether government was contemplating a ban on steel imports from China to give respite to Indian producers.
He added that the government, however, ensures that only quality steel is imported in the country.
The Minister also said since steel is a deregulated sector, the role of the government was limited to a just be a facilitator in the growth of the industry.
"Government lays down policy guidelines and the decisions regarding enhancement of production capacity is taken by the entrepreneurs based on assessment of prevailing and expected market/economic conditions," Sai said.
Earlier this week, in a written reply to Lok Sabha, Sai had said India's steel imports from China during April-January period of current fiscal rose to 2.9 MT against 1.08 MT in the entire 2013-14.
During the April-January period of current year, carbon steel imports from China stood at 1.52 MT, while stainless/ alloy steel imports were at 1.37 MT.
Steel imports to India were on the rise mainly because of higher imports from China, Japan and Korea for quite sometime now.
While a lull domestic market has made it a compulsion for Chinese steel makers to look out for export opportunities for steading sales, Japan and Korea have been taking advantages accrued out of the free trade agreements signed with India to dump products.
Steel imports have gone up cumulatively to 8.38 MT during the April-February period of the current fiscal, recording a whopping 67.3 per cent rise over the same period last fiscal.
However, paying heed to the steelmakers' plea, government has created a possibility in the Budget of increasing import duty for finished and semi-finished steels to 15 per cent from 10 per cent, aimed at protecting the home-grown firms from rising imports.
