Spurred by the US administration’s imposition of tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, India’s Directorate General for Foreign Trade (DGFT), part of the Ministry of Commerce, will prepare an "assessment report" on protectionist measures in key Indian export markets with the focus on the US and the European Union (EU), government officials said on Tuesday, March 27.
The officials said that assessment of protectionist measures already put in place by some countries and of risks of their expansion is necessary for the commerce ministry to frame the necessary policy responses.
Although the immediate impact of the US imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will be limited in the short term, considering low Indian exports of steel to the US, the Ministry of Commerce is aware of the risks of Indian exports facing collateral damage from retaliatory measures that other countries are contemplating in response to the US measures, the officials said.
Fears of such protectionists measures spilling over has already triggered alarms bell within the Ministry of Commerce and the DGFT report would form the basis of an Indian response.
The officials pointed out that the EU has already expressed fears that, following the US tariffs, surplus steel would find its way into the EU markets, adding that the European Commission has been working towards tariffs or import quotas for steel production across Asian countries like Japan, China, India and South Korea, and and also for Turkey, stating that such a move by the EU though in response to the US would be far more damaging to Indian steel exports.
The EU has initiated safeguard measures to check steel imports and since any quota or tariff would encompass a number of countries, Indian steel exports would get caught in the trade war crossfire, and so these issues will be delved into in detail together with long term-impacts by the proposed assessment reports, the officials added.