India initiates safeguard investigation on alloy and non-alloy flat steel products originating or imported from Vietnam

Recently, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) of India has issued a notice to initiate a safeguard investigation on non-alloy and alloy flat steel products imported into India. The case was initiated on the basis of a request from the Indian Steel Association representing many large Indian steel companies such as Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel, AMNS Khopoli, Jindal Steel and Power, Steel Authority of India…. Some information about the case is as follows:

Products under investigation: Non-alloy and alloy steel flat products under HS codes: 7208, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7225, 7226 (HS codes are for reference only, please see detailed product descriptions in the attached notice below). The scope of products under investigation includes hot-rolled steel products, cold-rolled steel products, anti-corrosion metal-coated steel products (including galvanized steel, cold-galvanized steel, zinc-magnesium alloy-coated steel) and color-coated steel.

The steel products excluded from the scope of investigation include: cold-rolled grain oriented electrical steel, cold-rolled grain non-oriented electrical steel coil and sheet, coated-electro galvanized steel, tinplate, stainless steel.

The Petitioner alleges that the imports of the subject product into India have increased rapidly, sharply and suddenly, causing serious injury to the domestic industry of India. The Petitioner has pointed out the unforeseeable factors that caused the sudden increase in imports, including:

- After the US imposed a 25% duty on steel under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, many countries have successively applied trade remedies on imported steel.

- Significant excess steel production capacity in China, Japan, and South Korea;

- China's domestic policy of shifting long steel production to flat-rolled steel for export;

- China's investment in steel production in ASEAN countries;

- India's obligations under GATT 1994 and other agreements

Investigation period: October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2024. DGTR said that it will investigate the data from 01/04/2021-31/03/2022; 01/04/2022-31/03/2023; 01/04/2023-31/03/2024 and the investigation period.

The petitioner requested DGTR to apply provisional safeguard measures due to the existence of a state of emergency (critical circumstances) and to apply safeguard measures for a period of 04 years.

DGTR requested the relevant parties to send their comments on the case and the questionnaire responses to the investigation for manufacturers, exporters, importers, domestic industry, and economic interest questionnaire in the prescribed format and format to the email addresses jd12-dgtr@gov.in; ad12-dgtr@gov.in; adv11-dgtr@gov.in; dgtr@govcontractor.in; consultant-dgtr@govcontractor.in. The deadline for submitting the above information is within 15 days from the date of publication of the initiation notice (the initiation date is December 19, 2024), i.e., by January 02, 2025 at the latest. In case no comments are received, DGTR will use the available data for investigation.

To promptly respond to the case, the Department of Trade Remedies (DTR) recommends that associations, enterprises manufacturing and exporting products proposed for investigation do the following:

- Carefully study the initiation notice, the public petition, send comments on the case (if any), send the response to the investigation questionnaire for manufacturers and exporters in the prescribed form and format to the Indian investigation agency at the above email address.

- Cooperate fully and comprehensively with the investigation agency to avoid being concluded as non-cooperative (which often leads to very high tax rates).

- Keep in touch and coordinate with the Department of Trade Remedies to receive timely support.

Download the initiation notice and survey questionnaires here.

For more information, please contact: Foreign Trade Remedies Handling Department, Department of Trade Remedies Handling, Ministry of Industry and Trade, 23 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. Officer in charge: Nguyen Thi Thuy. Email: thuyngth@moit.gov.vn; nganha@moit.gov.vn