STEELIMPORTS:Govt may not extend MIP on steel products beyond Oct 4

New Delhi:Government is unlikely to further extend the minimum import price (MIP) on certain steel products beyond October 4 as these items could be covered under anti-dumping duty, an official today said.

By the next month, the commerce ministry will complete the anti-dumping investigations on the 66 steel products on which MIP has been imposed and extended till October 4.

"Anti-dumping duties would cover those 66 items. After imposition of the anti-dumping duty, MIP is likely to be removed as MIP is a temporary measure," the official said.

The commerce ministry believes that WTO-compliant measures like anti-dumping duty should be used to overcome the issue of cheap imports of commodities like steel.

Last month, the government extended the MIP on only 66 steel products for two months as against 173 items earlier.

The 66 products include semi-finished ones of iron or non-alloyed steel, flat-rolled products of different widths, bars and rods.

Growing imports from steel surplus countries like China, Japan and Korea with predatory prices have been a major concern for the domestic industry since September 2014.

Steel Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh had said the government is working on bringing steel products that have been excluded from the minimum import price net under other safeguard measures, including anti-dumping duty.

The commerce ministry's Directorate General of Anti- Dumping & Allied Duties (DGAD) is probing dumping of certain steel products, including certain hot-and cold-rolled stainless steel flat products from China.