US Tariffs Led To The Surge Of Steel Products From Korea And Japan To India

Keywords: Japan; Korea; iron and steel

A government document shows that India is under a wave of steel shocks from Japanese and Korean manufacturers. After U.S. President Trump imposed import tariffs on steel earlier this year, Japanese and South Korean steelmakers redirected their supplies to other destinations.
India’s steel imports from South Korea and Japan surged 31% and 30% in the first quarter of the new fiscal year beginning in April, according to an internal document from the Ministry of Steel, seen by foreign media.

The minister, Chaudhary Birender Singh, told Reuters that the influx of steel was so huge that the Indian government was considering measures to control imports.

“Of course there will be some concern, so we will not hesitate to take some measures,” Singh said in an interview.

According to the record, India became a net importer of steel from April to June, with 2.1 million tons of foreign supply, up 15% from the same period last year.

With this increase, India has now surpassed the United States to become the third-largest steel market in South Korea, according to the Korea Iron Ore and Steel Association.