The Indian government’s protection of domestic steel producers will derail export growth as envisaged by the Economic Survey of the Ministry of Finance, said a statement issued by India-based Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) on Wednesday, January 31.
“It is a pity that when the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament predicts the economy to be growing at a good clip on back of the revival of exports, the government has been resorting to protecting the steel industry,” the statement said.
“This has made the most essential raw material for exports expensive, dealing a severe blow to the competitiveness of Indian export products in overseas markets,” the EEPC statement said.
The Indian government in the national budget to be presented to parliament on Thursday this week is expected to increase import duty across the board for all finished steel products.