India should make the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification process more strict to prevent steel dumping in the country, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India's chief executive Dilip Oommen said on the sidelines of the Indian Steel Association's (ISA) Steel Conclave 2023.
"India happens to be in the spotlight as far as the economy, steel consumption is concerned. This is not the case in the other countries, so India has the highest threat of imports coming in, flooding into the country, if actions are not taken in time," Oommen said on 7 November.
The country has received more than 900,000t of finished steel from China in the first half of the 2023-24 fiscal year, as weaker steel prices in China opened up an arbitrage for sales to India.
If India is capable of producing the type steel that is being imported, the granting of BIS certification for such products should be curtailed, Oommen said. "Wherever we feel that there is dumping happening, we should start by making the BIS certification process more stringent and enforced, so that the countries that are presently dumping steel refrain from doing that."
Products notified in India's steel and steel products quality orders cannot be produced, sold, traded, imported and stocked unless they bear BIS approval. Domestic products manufacturers have to obtain BIS certification, while foreign suppliers must obtain BIS registration.
Chinese steel was a threat to India and many countries, Oommen said, as the top producer lacked domestic demand and has increased exports drastically. Trade barriers were needed so that India was not flooded with cheap imports .
India was a net importer of steel for the fifth consecutive month in October, receiving most of its imports from China, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
"Every country should understand that they cannot sell subsidised steel to India and also they cannot sell up on a dumping basis, so that we are carefully monitoring country-wise," ISA secretary-general Alok Sahay told Argus on the sidelines of the conclave.
"The rigorous process which they adopt for domestic players, they should also adopt even for the foreign players… we need a level playing field," Sahay said of the BIS certification.
Indian steel market participants expect steel imports to fall in the coming months as BIS certifications for many steel mills in China have already expired. A Vietnamese mill's certification is to expire in early December, while southeast Asian steel mills have reported delays in obtaining renewals.
