(Image source from: Economictimes.indiatimes.com)

India has enforced a three-year import tax of 11% to 12% on certain steel items, based on a finance ministry announcement made on Tuesday, aiming to limit low-cost shipments from China. This tax, referred to as a safeguard duty, will start at 12% in the first year, then drop to 11.5% in the second year, and finally settle at 11% in the third year. The announcement, released in the official government gazette, does not include imports from specific developing nations; however, China, Vietnam, and Nepal will have to pay this tax. Additionally, this duty will not apply to specialized steel items like stainless steel. The federal steel ministry has consistently stated that it wants to protect the domestic steel sector from the negative impacts of cheap imports and low-quality products.

Earlier, in April, the government placed a short-term 200-day tax of 12%. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies suggested the three-year tax after observing a "recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports ... which is causing and poses a serious threat to the domestic industry," as noted in the announcement. U.S. President Donald Trump's steel import taxes have sparked a wave of trade conflict concerning Chinese steel, leading countries like South Korea and Vietnam to implement anti-dumping taxes earlier this year.