India Imposes 5-Year Anti-Dumping Duty on Steel Imports

• India levies $223.82/tonne anti-dumping duty on Chinese CRNO steel.
• Duty is effective for five years to protect the domestic steel industry.
• CRFH steel is exempt; follows DGTR probe into dumped imports.

The Indian government has imposed an anti-dumping duty on certain steel imports from China to safeguard the domestic industry from unfair pricing practices. Specifically, imports of Cold Rolled Non-Oriented Electrical Steel (CRNO) from China will now attract a duty of $223.82 per tonne. This measure, effective for five years, follows a notification issued by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

CRNO refers to cold-rolled flat steel products of silicon-electrical steel, available in coils or otherwise, irrespective of width and thickness. It features randomly oriented grains, making it suitable for use in electrical equipment such as motors, generators, and small transformers.

Notably, Cold Rolled Full Hard Silicon Electrical Steel (CRFH), which is used in the manufacturing of CRNO, has been exempted from this duty. The decision stems from a DGTR investigation that confirmed material injury to India's domestic steel industry due to dumped imports. The probe was initiated after requests from the steel sector alleging unfair dumping of these products.

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Broader trends highlight rising steel imports into India, with stainless steel shipments reaching 1.73 million tonnes in FY25, primarily from China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Korea, according to market research firm BigMint. Meanwhile, structural challenges in China have driven its steel exports to a record 88 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2025, exerting downward pressure on global prices, as noted by rating agency ICRA.