Ahead of the Budget, domestic iron and steel players have sought abolition of 2.5 per cent basic customs duty on import of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/indias-coal-output-up-10-to-156-mt-during-april-november-182611">coking coal</a> - a key raw material used in steelmaking.

Removal of duty on coking coal is a long-standing demand of the industry. At present India's 85 per cent of demand for coking coal is met through imports, industry bodies Ficci and CII have apprised the Ministry of Steel in a pre-Budget proposal.

"As there is no substitution for coking coal in steel making, import duty of 2.5 per cent on coking coal is redundant as import protection," the industry demanded in the proposal.

Due to the increasing and volatile coking coal prices, domestic merchant pig iron industry is suffering from huge losses, which forced many players to stop operations, it said.

The industry has forecast that the financial year 2030 - the year by which India aims to take its the capacity to 300 million tonnes - the demand for coking coal would be at 178.7 million tonnes and 140.2 MT will be met through imports.

However, it also noted that as per the National Steel Policy, the dependence on imported coking coal is supposed to be brought down to 65 per cent by 2030.

Scrap is another element which is posing a threat for the domestic steel manufacturers, the proposal said, requesting the duty on import of scrap should be raised to 10 per cent from the current level 2.5 per cent.

It also sought for BIS standard for scrap besides review MIP of scrap. 
"Cheap quality scrap imports have increased by 9 per cent in FY19 from FY17 which has resulted in net forex outgo increase by 58 per cent to USD 1.77 billion till February 2019.

"No BIS certification or standards are in place for scrap which leads to lack of authenticity on material import. There is also the risk of scrap being hazardous and radioactive since there is no norms or check," the proposal note said.&nbsp;

Ahead of the Budget, domestic iron and steel players have sought abolition of 2.5 per cent basic customs duty on import of coking coal - a key raw material used in steelmaking.

Ahead of the Budget, domestic iron and steel players have sought abolition of 2.5 per cent basic customs duty on import of coking coal - a key raw material used in steelmaking. Removal of duty on coking coal is a long-standing demand of the industry. At present India's 85 per cent of demand for coking coal is met through imports, industry bodies Ficci and CII have apprised the Ministry of Steel in a pre-Budget proposal. "As there is no substitution for coking coal in steel making, import duty of 2.5 per cent on coking coal is redundant as import protection," the industry demanded in the proposal. Due to the increasing and volatile coking coal prices, domestic merchant pig iron industry is suffering from huge losses, which forced many players to stop operations, it said. The industry has forecast that the financial year 2030 - the year by which India aims to take its the capacity to 300 million tonnes - the demand for coking coal would be at 178.7 million tonnes and 140.2 MT will be met through imports. However, it also noted that as per the National Steel Policy, the dependence on imported coking coal is supposed to be brought down to 65 per cent by 2030. Scrap is another element which is posing a threat for the domestic steel manufacturers, the proposal said, requesting the duty on import of scrap should be raised to 10 per cent from the current level 2.5 per cent. It also sought for BIS standard for scrap besides review MIP of scrap. "Cheap quality scrap imports have increased by 9 per cent in FY19 from FY17 which has resulted in net forex outgo increase by 58 per cent to USD 1.77 billion till February 2019. "No BIS certification or standards are in place for scrap which leads to lack of authenticity on material import. There is also the risk of scrap being hazardous and radioactive since there is no norms or check," the proposal note said.

Steel, iron makers seek removal of duty on coking coal; higher tariff on scrap

India's steel export to the US in 2018 declined by 49 per cent to $372 million, while that of aluminium increased by 58 per cent to $221 million, the independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report.

In 2018, the US imports of steel and aluminium products totalled $29.5 billion and $17.6 billion respectively, the report said adding that over the past decade steel imports have fluctuated significantly by value and quantity, while imports of aluminium have generally increased.

"The largest declines in US steel imports, by value, were from South Korea (-$430 million, -15 per cent), Turkey (-$413 million, -35 per cent) and India (-$372 million, -49 per cent) with significant increases from the EU (+$567 million, +22per cent), Mexico (+$508 million, +20 per cent) and Canada (+$404 million, +19 per cent)," the report said.

"The largest declines in aluminium imports were from China (-$729 million, -40 per cent), Russia (-$676 million, -42 per cent), and Canada (-$294 million, -four per cent) with major increases from the EU (+$395 million, nine per cent), India (+$221 million, 58 per cent) and Oman ($186 million, +200 per cent)," the report added.

The countries with permanent exclusions from the tariffs (all except Australia are instead subject to quotas) accounted for 18.4 per cent of US steel imports in 2018 and 4.4 per cent of US aluminium imports.

Last year President Donald Trump used Section 232 to apply new tariffs to steel and aluminium imports and potentially on automobile and auto parts and other sectors currently under investigation.

These actions have raised a number of policy issues and some members of Congress have introduced legislation to revise various Section 232 authorities.&nbsp;

Global overcapacity in steel and aluminium production, mainly driven by China, has been an ongoing concern of the US, the report said adding that the George W Bush, Obama and Trump Administrations each engaged in multilateral discussions to address global steel capacity reduction through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"While the US has extensive anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese steel imports to counter China's unfair trade practices, steel industry and other experts argue that the magnitude of Chinese production acts to depress prices globally, it added.

Effective March 23, 2018, Trump applied 25 per cent and 10 per cent tariffs, respectively, on certain steel and aluminium imports.&nbsp;

The President temporarily exempted several countries from the tariffs pending negotiations on potential alternative measures.

Permanent tariff exemptions in exchange for quantitative limitations on US imports were eventually announced covering steel for Brazil and South Korea, and both steel and aluminium for Argentina.&nbsp;

Australia was permanently exempted from both tariffs with no quantitative restrictions.&nbsp;

In August 2018, President Trump raised the tariff to 50 per cent on steel imports from Turkey.&nbsp;

The proposed US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) would not resolve or address the Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminium from Canada and Mexico, CRS said in the report.&nbsp;

India's steel export to the US in 2018 declined by 49 per cent to $372 million, while that of aluminium increased by 58 per cent to $221 million, the independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report.

India's steel export to the US in 2018 declined by 49 per cent to $372 million, while that of aluminium increased by 58 per cent to $221 million, the independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report. In 2018, the US imports of steel and aluminium products totalled $29.5 billion and $17.6 billion respectively, the report said adding that over the past decade steel imports have fluctuated significantly by value and quantity, while imports of aluminium have generally increased. "The largest declines in US steel imports, by value, were from South Korea (-$430 million, -15 per cent), Turkey (-$413 million, -35 per cent) and India (-$372 million, -49 per cent) with significant increases from the EU (+$567 million, +22per cent), Mexico (+$508 million, +20 per cent) and Canada (+$404 million, +19 per cent)," the report said. "The largest declines in aluminium imports were from China (-$729 million, -40 per cent), Russia (-$676 million, -42 per cent), and Canada (-$294 million, -four per cent) with major increases from the EU (+$395 million, nine per cent), India (+$221 million, 58 per cent) and Oman ($186 million, +200 per cent)," the report added. The countries with permanent exclusions from the tariffs (all except Australia are instead subject to quotas) accounted for 18.4 per cent of US steel imports in 2018 and 4.4 per cent of US aluminium imports. Last year President Donald Trump used Section 232 to apply new tariffs to steel and aluminium imports and potentially on automobile and auto parts and other sectors currently under investigation. These actions have raised a number of policy issues and some members of Congress have introduced legislation to revise various Section 232 authorities. Global overcapacity in steel and aluminium production, mainly driven by China, has been an ongoing concern of the US, the report said adding that the George W Bush, Obama and Trump Administrations each engaged in multilateral discussions to address global steel capacity reduction through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "While the US has extensive anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese steel imports to counter China's unfair trade practices, steel industry and other experts argue that the magnitude of Chinese production acts to depress prices globally, it added. Effective March 23, 2018, Trump applied 25 per cent and 10 per cent tariffs, respectively, on certain steel and aluminium imports. The President temporarily exempted several countries from the tariffs pending negotiations on potential alternative measures. Permanent tariff exemptions in exchange for quantitative limitations on US imports were eventually announced covering steel for Brazil and South Korea, and both steel and aluminium for Argentina. Australia was permanently exempted from both tariffs with no quantitative restrictions. In August 2018, President Trump raised the tariff to 50 per cent on steel imports from Turkey. The proposed US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) would not resolve or address the Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminium from Canada and Mexico, CRS said in the report.

Major decline in India's steel export to US; increase in aluminium: Report

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