India’s steel industry unaffected by US tariffs, says top official

India's steel industry is unlikely to be significantly impacted by the recent US tariffs on steel and aluminum, according to Sandeep Poundrik, Steel Secretary, Ministry of Steel, who addressed the issue on March 12.

Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Poundrik eased concerns, highlighting that India's steel exports to the US are minimal, totaling less than 100,000 metric tons, a small fraction of the country's annual production of approximately 145 million tons.

“The US tariffs won’t have much impact on India’s steel industry as our domestic market is strong, and only a small quantity is exported to the US. If out of 145 million tonnes, we are unable to export 95,000 tonnes, it doesn’t really matter,” Poundrik said last month.

The announcement coincides with the implementation of US President Donald Trump's most recent tariff increase, which raised taxes on all imports of steel and aluminum to 25% from the previous 10%.

This action is a component of Trump's larger strategy to influence foreign businesses to invest in the US by reshaping international commerce to support American manufacturing.

In the year ending March 2024, India, the second-largest primary producer of aluminum in the world, shipped 200,000 metric tons of aluminum to the United States, worth ₹78.3 billion ($894.4 million).

Other big economies are responding to the US tariffs, but India says it will be mostly unaffected.

Trump's actions were considered "unjust" by the European Union, which earlier today imposed countermeasures on 26 billion euros ($28.3 billion) worth of US goods.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the EU will take decisive action to safeguard its sectors, but it is still open to negotiations.

With new tariffs scheduled to go into effect on April 2, Trump has eliminated all exclusions from the 2018 tariffs and extended them to Canada, Mexico, China, the EU, Brazil, and South Korea.

The Trump government views certain policies as trade obstacles, which is why these additional measures are being implemented.

This sparked concerns in India that the tariffs would affect Indian companies, who already have to contend with an increase in imports, by flooding international markets with excess steel.

Statements from Poundrik, however, suggest that the Indian steel sector won't face any significant repercussions.

Even though US tariffs might not directly affect India, the change in trade patterns could make cheaper steel imports from markets like the EU more competitive.