On May 11, Indian government deferred its decision on whether or not to impose a safeguard duty on imported steel products by two months on a meeting of Standing Board on Safeguards chaired by commerce secretary G K Pillai, indicating that the issue needed to be examined further after taking views of the consuming industry.
Mr G K Pillai told reporters after the meeting, "We felt that not enough homework had been done and there is a need to consult both the domestic industry and other interested parties concerned. We have asked the Directorate General on Safeguards (DGS) to consult the domestic industry and come back to the board after 60 days with recommendations,"
"There was no urgency to consider the safeguard duty," said steel secretary P K Rastogi, a member of the board, adding that the interim proposals of the DGS were found to be ‘insufficient'.
"This was an interim recommendation of DGS... There should be further examination," Mr Rastogi added.
Domestic steelmakers like JSW Steel and Essar Steel wanted imposition of a 25 percent safeguards duty alleging that the countries like China dump steel products like hot rolled coils, sheets and strips at a much lower price injuring the domestic industry. The steel ministry, on its part, proposed a 20 percent safeguards duty.