Amns India bats for protection for domestic steel industry, as Trump tariff is concerned about Chinese dumping | Mint

New -delhi: Steelmaker ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (Amns) India expressed concern about the negative impact of the US reciprocal tariff on domestic steel, and joined the refrain of Indian steel makers who want to prevent additional protection from the government of government to prevent the domestic steel industry, as the Indian market needs months has not risen, “Ranjan Dhar, director and vice president – sales and marketing at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, told reporters. Dhar, who spoke on the sidelines of a function to announce Amns’s Green Steel initiative to the lead of India and finalizing the green steel tax economy, said Dhar, the world’s largest steel producer with more than 1 billion tonnes of production, was among the steel executive countries to the US. “If the country (China) does not find a market for its steel in the US, and its domestic consumption remains low, it will have to deduce it somewhere. India could be one market,” Dhar said. Before Amns, the country’s largest steel maker steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) of the country earlier expressed concerns about Trump tariffs affecting the domestic steel industry. Changes in global trading flow would make India vulnerable to cheaper imports from countries with surplus production and a major market in the US. The Indian industry has already sought higher import duties at all steel grades. The Indian Steel Association (ISA), of which Amns is also a part, suggested that a 25% protection duty on steel is imposed on the 12% preliminary duty proposed on certain degrees imported steel for 200 days by the Directorate General of Trading (DGRTR), the anti-stamping body function under the Minister of Commerce. China Exports India has become a net importer of the metal. In FY25, the steel trade deficit of India hit a 10 -year peak of 4.5 million tonnes (MT). Imports rose to 9.5 MT, the highest since FY16, while exports crashed into a decade-low 5 MT. Imports come mainly from China, although imports from acute AM and other asean countries have also increased. Even today, the price of Chinese imports is lower than the production costs of domestic steel. Dhar said that countries such as China export more than 100 million tonnes of steel annually as they have developed their steel capacity than they can consume domestically. The situation is the same for India, so the country does not have an appetite for imports that impede some special steel degrees that are not currently being made in India. The steel industry has estimated that India’s steel imports in FY26 could reduce by 50%. At the same time, the profitability of domestic manufacturers is expected to improve if the government charges a duty of protection on incoming consignments at a higher level than DGTR proposed. Earlier this month, President Trump announced reciprocal rates on about 60 countries in a historical measure to counter higher duties imposed on US products worldwide. For India, the US has announced 26% of reciprocal rates. However, cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum articles, which are already subject to the rates of Article 232 at 25%, which were announced in March, are not covered in the latest order. Amns, which is also in the midst of its over £ 60,000 crore investment increasing the capacity at its Hazira plant from about 10 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes, undertakes different initiatives for the production of low carbon green steel. It plans to have the early FY27 70% green steel under its portfolio. EMISSION CONTROL AMNS India’s existing and expected manufacturing footprint and sustainability actions have been set up to ensure that the company is ready to deliver a significant part of the green steel in confirmation with the new green steel tax economy, which is expected to be rolled out in FY 2026-27, the company said in a statement. With these efforts, Amns is ready to become the first integrated steel business to achieve a three-star rating, the statement says. In December 2024, the Green Steel Tax Economics for India was published by the Ministry of Steel to provide a common language and framework on what makes a lower carbon steel, promotes the dissolution of India’s steel industry and catalyzes the demand for greener steel for and from India. Green steel, as defined in taxonomy, is categorized based on the emission intensity of the steel plant where it is produced. To be eligible, the CO2 equivalent (CO2E) emission intensity must be less than 2.2 tonnes of CO2E per ton completed steel (TFS). Steel with an emission intensity above this threshold is not eligible for a green rating, while steel under it is produced on a three-level system: three-star, four-star or five-star steel. Amns India’s confidence in its ability to guide the steel industry among the thresholds set by the taxonomy stems from the strong record of reducing emissions over the past few years and its clear plans to build on these progress in the coming years. Amns India achieved a CO2 intensity of 2,17 TCO2/TCs in FY23 -14% lower than the national average and is aimed at achieving a 20% reduction in the intensity of carbon emissions by 2030 to 1.8 TCO2/TCs from the 2021 base line, Dhar said. Lower carbon footprint The company has already reduced its carbon emissions intensity by more than 35% since 2015. Currently, 65% of the Amns India’s steel capacity is derived from the directly reduced iron (TRI) route that uses natural gas. This process has a low carbon footprint. Furthermore, the ongoing expansion contains modern technologies that focus on reducing carbon emissions. A new scrap processing facility in Khopoli, Maharashtra, is already in operation. Along with three additional centers developed, this facility will improve the use of recycled materials, which further reduces the company’s carbon footprint, the company’s statement says. “While India is pursuing its decarbonation goals by 2070, it has the world’s first green steel tax economy. Taxonomy is, “officer, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, in the company statement. downstream facilities.