NEW DELHI: India is in discussions to tackle higher steel imports, Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Wednesday, without sharing further details.

Rising imports are a key issue for steelmakers even as demand for the metal continues to surge, Kumaraswamy told reporters at an industry event.

India, the world’s second biggest crude steel producer, was a net importer of steel through the fiscal year ending March 2024, and remained a net importer from April to July.

China was the top steel exporter to India from April to July, followed by Japan and South Korea. Higher imports have hit local steel prices, which have fallen to their lowest in more than three years, data from commodities consultancy BigMint showed.

Earlier in the month, Steel Minister Kumaraswamy had said his ministry will try to convince the finance ministry to raise tariffs on steel imports, in a bid to protect domestic mills from a rise in cheaper imports from countries like China.

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In August, India initiated an anti-dumping investigation on certain steel products imported from Vietnam, in response to the urging of the country’s leading steelmakers, such as JSW Steel and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel.