India Imposes 12 Percent Tariff on Some Steel Imports

India’s heavy industries minister welcomed the tariffs as a way to protect the country’s domestic steel industry.

Indian workers store steel coils near Viramgam, India, on Jan. 27, 2016. SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images

India levied a new 12 percent tariff on some steel imports on April 21 amid a recent surge in cheap Chinese steel products.

The Indian Ministry of Finance announced that the tariffs would apply to five different categories of steel products. The notice stated that these import taxes would stand for the next 200 days, unless the Finance Ministry otherwise revokes or amends the order within that time frame.

These tariffs come as China has surged its production and export of cheap steel products in recent years.

China remains the largest steel-producing nation in the world. According to a January assessment by the World Steel Association, China produced about 1 billion metric tons of the approximately 1.88 billion metric tons produced worldwide in 2024.

India remains a distant second, producing 149 million metric tons of steel last year.

Japan, the third largest steel producer, produced 84 million metric tons of steel in 2024, while the fourth largest, the United States, produced 79.5 million metric tons, according to the World Steel Association data.

Indian Heavy Industries Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy cheered the new tariffs as a means of defending his country’s steel industry.

“I welcome the 12% safeguard duty on imported steel flat products,” Kumaraswamy wrote in a post on social media platform X on Monday. “This will protect Indian manufacturers, ensure fair competition, and boost our domestic industry.”

Countries around the world have been reevaluating their tariff schedules in recent months, as U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for a rebalancing of trade relations between the United States and the rest of the world.

Trump announced a new global tariff schedule on April 2, including a 26 percent reciprocal tariff on Indian products. On April 9, Trump placed a 90-day delay on the new tariffs to allow most partners to renegotiate their trade relationships with the United States. China, however, which retaliated with tariffs of its own that are currently at 125 percent, faces tariffs of up to 245 percent.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in New Delhi and met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. The leaders took the visit as an opportunity to discuss relations between their respective nations.

“Vice President Vance and Prime Minister Modi welcomed significant progress in the negotiations for a U.S.–India Bilateral Trade Agreement and formally announced the finalization of the Terms of Reference for the negotiations, laying down a roadmap for further discussions about our shared economic priorities,” Vance’s office said in a statement on Monday afternoon, as the vice president concluded a visit to Modi’s residence.

The vice president’s office said the emerging agreement presents a chance to enhance bilateral trade and create jobs “in a balanced and mutually beneficial manner.”

Modi’s office said the two leaders discussed continued cooperation in a variety of sectors, including defense, strategic technologies, and energy.