India rolls out three-year steel duty of 11-12% amid China imports surge
The levy will be set at 12 per cent in the first year, ease to 11.5 per cent in the second, and taper further to 11 per cent in the third year
- Dec 31, 2025,
- Updated Dec 31, 2025 7:35 AM IST
India moved decisively on Tuesday to shield its steel sector, imposing a three-year import tariff of 11–12 per cent on select steel products as shipments from China continue to flood the market. The staggered duty, starting at 12 per cent and gradually tapering, signals a longer-term defence after months of temporary safeguards.
The levy will be set at 12 per cent in the first year, ease to 11.5 per cent in the second, and taper further to 11 per cent in the third year. The decision comes as India, the world’s second-largest crude steel producer, grapples with a surge of low-priced imports from China, which intensifies anti-dumping concerns and squeezes domestic producers.
Published in the official government gazette, the measure excludes imports from certain developing countries. However, China, Vietnam and Nepal will be subject to the duty. Speciality steel products, including stainless steel, have been kept outside its scope.
The commerce ministry has repeatedly said it does not want the domestic steel industry to suffer injury from cheap imports and sub-standard products. Acting on these concerns, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies recommended the three-year duty after finding a “recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports ... causing and threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry,” the order said.
The move follows an earlier stop-gap measure. In April 2025, the government imposed a 12 per cent temporary tariff for 200 days on all steel imports from foreign nations. That safeguard expired in November 2025, reviving calls from industry for longer protection.
Industry bodies had flagged the risk well before the fresh levy. In August 2025, the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association filed a petition with the DGTR, urging the government to impose anti-dumping duties on cheap steel imports that were undercutting local manufacturers.
India’s action also reflects wider global trade tensions over Chinese steel exports. After Donald Trump imposed import tariffs on steel, Chinese shipments were diverted to other markets. Several countries have since tightened trade defences, with South Korea and Vietnam earlier this year imposing anti-dumping levies on Chinese steel products to counter what governments describe as market-distorting, low-priced exports.
Headline options
-
Steel imports face 11–12% duty as India moves to blunt China’s pricing push
-
Three-year steel tariff unveiled as India tightens shield against cheap Chinese imports
-
India rolls out phased steel duty to curb surge of low-priced Chinese shipments
-
11–12% steel import tariff signals India’s longer fight against dumping pressures
-
After temporary curbs, India rolls out three-year steel duty of 11-12% amid China imports surge
India moved decisively on Tuesday to shield its steel sector, imposing a three-year import tariff of 11–12 per cent on select steel products as shipments from China continue to flood the market. The staggered duty, starting at 12 per cent and gradually tapering, signals a longer-term defence after months of temporary safeguards.
The levy will be set at 12 per cent in the first year, ease to 11.5 per cent in the second, and taper further to 11 per cent in the third year. The decision comes as India, the world’s second-largest crude steel producer, grapples with a surge of low-priced imports from China, which intensifies anti-dumping concerns and squeezes domestic producers.
Published in the official government gazette, the measure excludes imports from certain developing countries. However, China, Vietnam and Nepal will be subject to the duty. Speciality steel products, including stainless steel, have been kept outside its scope.
The commerce ministry has repeatedly said it does not want the domestic steel industry to suffer injury from cheap imports and sub-standard products. Acting on these concerns, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies recommended the three-year duty after finding a “recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports ... causing and threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry,” the order said.
The move follows an earlier stop-gap measure. In April 2025, the government imposed a 12 per cent temporary tariff for 200 days on all steel imports from foreign nations. That safeguard expired in November 2025, reviving calls from industry for longer protection.
Industry bodies had flagged the risk well before the fresh levy. In August 2025, the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association filed a petition with the DGTR, urging the government to impose anti-dumping duties on cheap steel imports that were undercutting local manufacturers.
India’s action also reflects wider global trade tensions over Chinese steel exports. After Donald Trump imposed import tariffs on steel, Chinese shipments were diverted to other markets. Several countries have since tightened trade defences, with South Korea and Vietnam earlier this year imposing anti-dumping levies on Chinese steel products to counter what governments describe as market-distorting, low-priced exports.
Headline options
-
Steel imports face 11–12% duty as India moves to blunt China’s pricing push
-
Three-year steel tariff unveiled as India tightens shield against cheap Chinese imports
-
India rolls out phased steel duty to curb surge of low-priced Chinese shipments
-
11–12% steel import tariff signals India’s longer fight against dumping pressures
-
After temporary curbs, India rolls out three-year steel duty of 11-12% amid China imports surge