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Indian Stainless Steel Development Association has voiced concerns about the impending adverse impact on India’s domestic industry due to the temporary revocation of trade remedial duties on importing stainless steel, as announced in this year's Union Budget. ISSDA President Mr KK Pahuja said "The government reversed six trade remedies out of which three relate to stainless steel, which is just 3 per cent of overall steel industry in India. Therefore, it has disproportionately impacted stainless steel, including its MSME sector, and considerably dipped the market sentiment. MSME sector constitutes about 35% of the domestic stainless steel industry, spread across the country, and is a major supplier for utensils and household segments. However, the installed capacity for manufacturing stainless steel in the MSME sector is 15 lakh tonnes, with less than 50% being utilised. Keeping this in mind, a potential market brimming with unregulated and cheap imports of Chinese stainless steel goods is expected to make MSME players go bankrupt or turn them into traders.”
ISSDA, along with four major associations representing MSME stainless steel producers, namely the Wazirpur Industrial Estate Welfare Society Delhi, Rajasthan Stainless Steel Re-rollers Association Jodhpur Rajasthan, Jagadhri Stainless Steel Re-roller Association Haryana and Stainless Steel Re-rollers Association Ahmedabad Gujarat has urged the government to reconsider this step as it will distort the domestic market by flooding it with subsidised stainless steel from China and Indonesia, and will put several MSME players on the verge of bankruptcy.
Presenting the Budget proposals for 2021-22 in Parliament on February 1, Finance Minister Ms Nirmala Sitharaman announced that import duties on a host of steel items were being reduced to prevent hardening of metal prices in the country. Also, the Budget temporarily revoked (commencing from February 2 till September 30, 2021) countervailing duty on imports of Certain Hot Rolled and Cold Rolled Stainless Steel Flat Products, originating in or exported from China. Also, provisional countervailing duty has been revoked on imports of flat products of stainless steel, originating in or exported from Indonesia. The anti-dumping duty on certain grades of Cold-Rolled Flat Products of stainless steel has also been discontinued.