India blames Indonesia for dumping stainless steel
Indonesia's stainless steel imports to India increased almost ninefold in a year, from nearly 8,000 tons to 67,000 tons, the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) said Wednesday. According to the association, supplies from Indonesia are growing due to Chinese expansion in this country. ISSDA has asked the Indian government to amend its import taxation policy for exporters from ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which continue to use the FTA feed-in tariff.
ISSDA has also demanded to impose import duties on imports of stainless steel flat products from Indonesia to counter Chinese imports currently being routed through the ASEAN FTA route. Stainless steel exporters in several countries are colluding with some Indian importers to misuse the provisions of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Area rules, the ISSDA said in a statement.
Chinese investments in Indonesia are supported by Chinese government subsidies to expand into overseas markets. They are also generously subsidized by the Indonesian government to attract additional investment. With little to no growth in domestic demand in Indonesia, any excess capacity thus created is being dumped in a growing market like India at an alarming rate.
Indonesia's total Hot Rolled Coil (HRC) exports almost tripled in the first three quarters of 2018, and is expected to continue to grow in 2019, according to official figures released by the Indonesian government this month.
According to ISSADA, stainless steel from China is exported to Indonesia for minor modifications such as cutting to a smaller width, after which the same batch is exported to India. In another way of evading duties, Indonesia imports hot rolled stainless steel coils from China and then rolls the same batch into cold rolled stainless steel coils.
Earlier, the largest steel companies in India, including Tata Steel Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd, the state concern Steel of India and others, appealed to the Federal Ministry of Steel, claiming that China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam are dumping various grades on the Indian market steel and, as a result, take away their market share from local producers.