Steel imports: India asks US to comply with WTO ruling against CVD

Eager to help the debt-ridden steel industry regain its foothold in the US market for hot-rolled carbon steel products, India has asked Washington to comply with the dispute settlement body’s ruling against countervailing duties (CVD) imposed on imports. The last date for complying with the ruling lapsed on March 19.

India, together with Japan, the EU, Brazil and China, has also asked the US not to transfer anti-dumping and CVD imposed on imports to its industry — a move that was ruled illegitimate by the WTO several years ago, a government official told BusinessLine .

Anti-dumping duties and CVD are penal levies imposed on imports when there is a surge in inflow of particular goods either due to the seller off-loading them at prices lower than what it charges in its domestic market or the exporting country subsidising them.

“While the US, at a recent meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body, said it was taking steps to comply with the WTO’s ruling against the CVD imposed on hot-rolled steel, we feel it is playing for more time as it has asked India for all kinds of fresh data related to price and production of steel and coal. This is unacceptable to us,” the official added.

New Delhi now plans to use the ‘hearing’ to be held by the US in April on its implementation process for the WTO ruling to ensure that the country sticks to the directions given by the multilateral body.

The WTO, in its ruling on the case filed by India against the CVD, had found faults with the way the US calculated the penal duties including its assumption that the iron ore bought by Indian companies from NMDC is supplied at a subsidised rate because it is a “public body”.

Indian companies including Tata Steel, Jindal, Essar and SAIL, could gain significantly if the US withdraws or re-calculates the CVD as per the WTO’s ruling. Exports from India of the targeted steel product almost stopped over the last few years due to imposition of steep penalties, which were as high as 500 per cent in some cases.

India and a number of other members fighting cases against similar penal duties imposed on their exports have asked the US to also stop distributing the duties collected to its domestic industry as this gives it a competitive edge.

With global steel prices declining, New Delhi recently imposed a Minimum Import Price and a safeguard duty of 20 per cent on import of the metal to shield the domestic industry from cheap inflows.