Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group, has called for ‘US-like’ tough trade barriers to protect not only the steel industry but also the entire manufacturing sector of the country.
“We must take inputs from what (US President) Donald Trump has done in his country. In the Indian scenario, duty on imports will not hamper exports. Manufacturing sector cannot be sacrificed for service sector,” said Jindal in a tweet on Friday tagging the Prime Minister’s Office, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and the Steel Ministry.
Referring to the US President’s twitter handle, Jindal said ‘Potus’ (President of the US)-like decisions are required irrespective of what the vote bank demands. The bigger national picture is important, he said.
“I am saying this not just for the steel industry but for all the sectors. We have to safeguard domestic manufacturers come what may,” he emphasised.
In order to protect the steel industry from cheap imports, India has already levied an anti-dumping duty in the form of minimum import price which has become ineffective after steel prices firmed up substantially in recent times.
While domestic steel companies are protected on the lower end of the price curve, imports still take place as Indian companies find it difficult to compete with global players due to high cost of production.
Till late last year steel companies were exporting nearly half of their output to South-East Asian countries and Europe due to weak demand in domestic markets.
The steel industry is strategically important for every developed and developing nation. What US President Donald Trump has done in the US is an important and positive step towards safeguarding this industry, he said.
It is important that Indian policy makers understand what countries such as China, Korea and Japan are doing. Japan’s steel consumption is about 60 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and they produce 110-120 mtpa. They export about 50 per cent of their produce but they never buy anything imported, highlighted Jindal.
China has a surplus production of about 15 per cent, which they use to disrupt the steel industry world over by dumping cheap quality steel.
What the US has done needs to be replicated by Indian policy makers. In fact steel should be excluded from all free trade agreements, he said.