India to soon decide on extending safeguard duty on steel imports

New Delhi: India will soon take a decision on extending the safeguard duty on steel imports.

The country is trying to stop cheap overseas purchases from flooding its market and bolster the domestic steel sector.

New Delhi imposed a 20 percent safeguard import tax on some steel products in September 2015 and last week set a floor price for imports of steel products to deter countries such as China from undercutting local mills, the first such move in more than 15 years.

The safeguard duty expires in 200 days from the day it came into effect. 

Steel secretary Aruna Sundararajan told CNBC-TV18 channel that the government would keep an eye on domestic steel prices after the imposition of the new floor prices.