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Govt not in favour of more steps to check steel imports: Nirmala

The Commerce and Industry Ministry is not in favour of more steps to check import of cheaper steel.

"We have imposed minimum import price (MIP) and at the moment, I am not looking into specifics. If the steel ministry is looking into it, we will have to wait and hear from them," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday told reporters. She was replying to a question on whether the ministry is considering more steps to deal with the problem of cheap steel import.

In February, the government imposed MIP on 173 steel products ranging between $341 to $752 per tonne (nearly Rs 23,065.24-50,865.28) to give relief to domestic steel producers against cheap in-bound shipments. The MIP will remain in place for six months only. The government has also imposed a safeguard duty on certain steel products. Meanwhile, government on Monday said e-commerce guidelines have brought in “greater clarity” about the sector and they will provide a level-playing field to both online and offline stores.

“I am very enthused and encouraged by various write-ups in newspapers that the clarification indeed has brought in greater clarity and also probably checked predatory pricing and discount giving exercises,” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters here. She said the market is free and the government does not believe in interfering in it, adding that “somewhere we have to ensure Indian players and Indian market situation does not get unnecessarily skewed to distort any free trade practices”.
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