India’s Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) has applied to the country’s government seeking the imposition of quantitative restrictions on steel exports from the country to rein in prices, an official of the Council said on Monday, May 17.
The EPPC said that the government needed to impose both tariff and non-tariff barriers to exports including exercising the option of a levy of export tax on steel shipments overseas to check rising domestic prices.
According to the EEPC, value addition to steel and production of engineering products for the export market have become uncompetitive in the face of rising domestic prices of steel.
"There has been a substantial jump in export of primary steel in recent months, while many value-added steel and high-value steel-based engineering products shipped from the country have seen a 15-35 percent decline," EEPC India chairman Mahesh Desai said.
"We have therefore suggested that the government should take non-tariff and tariff measures as part of the raw material export policy. Otherwise, many micro, small, and medium exporters will be out of business and it will lead to the unemployment of skilled people," Desai said.