Govt Plan to Curb Special Steel Imports

The Ministry of Steel is working on a proposal to impose quality control regulations on tinplate and tin-free steel. The Ministry of Steel is planning to mandate foreign tinplate suppliers to adhere to BIS standards.

Mandating impost to be in compliance with BIS standards could discourage them from supplying to India making the move a non-tariff barrier.

Why the Proposal is under Consideration?

The proposal is due to the push from the domestic industries which together have a capacity of 660,000 tonnes. The representation from Indian Tinplate Manufacturers Association (ITMA) has urged that Indian tin mills have the required capacity to meet the market demand domestically and that supply would far exceed the demand.

Concerns from Other Ministries

• The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has expressed concerns that the move could adversely affect a large number of MSME units engaged in manufacturing of value-added products from tinplate.
• The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has urged for a similar mandatory requirement for value products to ensure that the imports don t substitute locally produced ones.
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industries, on the other hand, had urged for an appropriate staging period so that businesses in India get due time to prepare themselves.

Industry bodies have also expressed concerns that the products are already more expensive than other materials like plastic and paper packaging materials. The new order will make tin and steel materials more expensive.