The duty will be imposed for six months on imports from Australia, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan and Russia, the order said.
Also read: India imposes tariff on some steel products for three years to curb cheap imports
Import barriers on metallurgical coke raising steelmaking costs
As the country is ramping up steel production, capacity expansion, export competitiveness and downstream manufacturing are all central to that ambition. But a recent GTRI report flagged a policy contradiction that is making steel costlier to produce just as demand is rising.
Low ash metallurgical coke, a critical input that accounts for roughly 35–40% of steel production costs, is the heart of the issue. Amid the government’s moves to protect domestic steelmakers from cheap finished steel imports through safeguard duties, anti-dumping measures and quality control orders, it has simultaneously tightened access to this essential raw material.