Steel safeguard thresholds may distort prices, hurt MSMEs: GTRI

The government's 12% safeguard duty on five categories of imported steel products is likely to create significant price distortions in the domestic market, according to a new report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). The move, aimed at protecting domestic manufacturers from import surges, could end up hurting small businesses and raising steel prices, the report warned. The safeguard duty, notified by the ministry of finance on 21 April, applies to imports falling below specific threshold prices across key steel products—hot-rolled coils ($675/mt), hot-rolled plates ($695/mt), cold-rolled coils ($824/mt), metallic-coated steel ($861/mt), and colour-coated coils ($964/mt). If imports are…