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India reported big surge in aluminum scrap imports during the initial seven months of the current fiscal. The country imported 7.73 million tonnes of aluminum scrap during April-October, significantly higher by 22% when compared with the imports during corresponding period the previous fiscal. The imports had totaled 6.32 Mt in Apr-Oct of 2017-’18. The above statistics were published by the Aluminum Association of India (AAI) in its latest monthly report.
The ongoing tariff trade war between the U.S. and China has led to increased dumping of aluminum and scrap into India. The scrap shipments destined to Europe, are now being diverted to countries such as India by the U.S., mainly due to stringent import restrictions imposed by European countries. The surge in import figures justifies the concerns expressed earlier by the AAI that India is most likely to become the primary victim of the escalating trade war between the world’s two major economies.
The AAI has already demanded hike in import duty on aluminum scrap to stem flows into the country, thereby protecting the domestic industry. The industry body has requested to raise the import duty on aluminum metal and scrap to 10%. As per current duty structure, imports of aluminum metal and scrap attract a duty of 7.5% and 2.5% respectively.
The unprecedented rise in aluminum and scrap imports has caused material damage to the domestic industry. The imports of total aluminum and aluminum scrap have surged by 100% and 98% respectively over the past seven years, AAI noted.