India steel imports fall 13% in 2025 as safeguard duty bites

Imports slide as trade barriers tighten

India’s steel imports, including stainless steel, fell 13% year-on-year to around 9.59 million mt during CY2025. The decline came as a series of policy actions raised the cost and compliance burden of bringing steel into the country. The government’s safeguard duty on flat steel and multiple anti-dumping measures were central to the shift in trade flows. Alongside tariffs, tighter scrutiny on import quality and standards added another layer of friction for buyers. The combined effect was a more cautious import environment through the year.

Safeguard duty lifts landed costs above domestic prices

A key trigger was the government’s provisional 12% safeguard duty implemented in April, which raised landed costs for flat steel imports. Market participants cited that the duty pushed imported flat steel costs above domestic prices, reducing the incentive to buy from overseas. The safeguard duty covered a broad set of flat steel products, including HRCs, sheets and plates, hot-rolled plate mill plates, cold-rolled coils and sheets, metallic coated steel, and colour-coated steel products. Later toward the year-end, the government imposed a definitive safeguard duty for a period of three years. This definitive duty begins retrospectively from the date of provisional duty imposition on 21 April 2025.

Three-year duty path clarified in industry chatter

Separate commentary in the provided material indicates the definitive safeguard duty was communicated as a three-year measure with a step-down structure. The path cited was 12% in the first year, 11.5% in the second year, and 11% in the third year. The same material indicates large producers such as JSW Steel, JSPL and SAIL had sought continuation of safeguard support. While the article notes the definitive duty is for three years and retrospective from 21 April 2025, readers should track the notified schedule for exact year-wise applicability.

Anti-dumping duties widen beyond one origin

Beyond the safeguard duty, India imposed anti-dumping measures that further constrained import demand. On 12 November 2025, the government imposed an anti-dumping duty of $121.5 per tonne on imports of hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel originating in or exported from Vietnam. Separately, India imposed an anti-dumping duty of USD 121.55 per tonne on imports of hot rolled flat steel products from Vietnam for five years, with the notification stating the duty remains effective for five years unless revoked, superseded, or amended earlier. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) conducted an investigation and recommended the imposition of the duty. The measures were positioned as a response to concerns around dumping and alleged injury to the domestic industry.

China-focused measures: cold-rolled and electrical steel

On 18 December, Reuters reported India implemented an anti-dumping tariff on cold-rolled steel imports from China for five years. The duty varies by product type, ranging between $123.8 per ton and $114.9 per ton, per the order cited. In another action, on 19 December, the government imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of cold rolled non-oriented (CRNO) electrical steel originating from China PR, citing material injury to domestic producers. That duty will remain in force for five years unless revised or withdrawn earlier. In addition, the government launched an anti-dumping investigation into cold-rolled stainless steel flat steel imports from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Quality controls: BIS requirements and later exemptions

Policy tightening was not limited to duties. In June, the government mandated that raw materials for imported steel meet BIS quality standards, aimed at blocking cheap, substandard imports. But the material also notes enforcement was delayed and several exemptions were allowed. By November, a new notification temporarily suspended 55 quality standards for steel used in the engineering, automotive, and specialty sectors. This sequence shows that quality enforcement moved in phases, with stricter intent followed by operational flexibility for certain end-user industries.

Industry reactions and the domestic price backdrop

Domestic producers publicly supported anti-dumping actions in at least one case. Tata Steel described the decision to impose anti-dumping duty on certain steel items from Vietnam as a “positive development” for the domestic industry, saying it would check unfair imports. The same coverage highlighted that domestic steel prices slumped to a five-year low in October, with surging imports cited among the factors. Tata Steel CEO and MD T V Narendran told PTI that Vietnam and some other countries were being used as transit points to route material into the Indian market. At the same time, the material notes that “user industry” was against the move, reflecting a typical split between producers seeking protection and consuming industries seeking lower-cost inputs.

What the import numbers show for FY26 so far

Data cited from a research firm shows steel imports were 4.90 million tonnes in April-September FY26. Vietnam contributed 13% of those imports. At 0.64 MT, imports from Vietnam were 17% higher year-on-year during that period. These figures sit alongside the broader CY2025 decline, suggesting country-level and product-level shifts can still occur even when aggregate annual imports are down.

Key policy and data points at a glance

Why this matters for steel buyers and producers

For importers and steel-consuming industries, higher landed costs and new duties change procurement economics quickly, particularly for flat products that compete directly with domestic mills. For domestic producers, the measures address long-standing concerns around dumping and alleged injury, and they come at a time when prices were reported to have weakened to a five-year low in October. The article also reflects policy balancing: tighter controls and duties on one side, and temporary suspension of 55 standards for engineering, automotive, and specialty sectors on the other. Separately, industry bodies continued to push for investigations, including petitions on alloy steel and stainless steel.

Ongoing probes and what to watch next

The Alloy Steel Producers Association of India (ASPA), which includes Tata Steel and JSW Steel, filed a petition with the DGTR on 31 July seeking consideration of anti-dumping duties on cheap alloy steel shipments, as per the cited PTI report. The same material states thousands of tonnes of alloyed steel wire rod from China were being dumped at lower cost and that capacity utilisation was at 60%. In stainless steel, the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) filed an application with the DGTR to investigate dumping from select countries, and industry participants said they were awaiting the DGTR to begin its investigation. The next set of outcomes will hinge on DGTR findings and subsequent government notifications on duties and investigations.