US tariffs on steel imports will not have "any immediate impact" on Indian shipments of steel products as Indian exports to the US accounted for just two percent of its total exports, secretary to the Ministry of Steel, Aruna Sharma, said on Friday, March 2.
Total Indian steel exports during the financial year 2016-17 were estimated at 8.2 million mt, a rise of 102 percent over the previous financial year, according to data sourced from Joint Plant Committee of the Ministry of Steel.
During the April 2017-January 2018 period, Indian steel exports recorded by the Joint Plant Committee totaled 8.22 million mt, indicating that total exports during the financial year 2017-18 will exceed the levels of the previous financial year.
On Thursday, March 1, US President Donald Trump approved tariff protections on steel and aluminum imports of 25 percent and 10 percent respectively under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act 1962.