Overlooking dissimilarity between Hot Rolled & Cold Rolled stainless steel for anti-dumping and countervailing duties causes harmful market repercussions: Chromeni Steels

AHMEDABAD, India, Dec. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Chromeni Steels Private Limited has urged the authorities towards certain anomalies in stainless steel product categorisation while levying anti-dumping and countervailing duties.

Blanket anti-dumping and countervailing duties on the imports of Hot-Rolled products and Cold-Rolled products is unjustified, as both are entirely different products in terms of their application, manufacturing infrastructure, the distinct process machinery, and customs classification.

Commenting on this Pratik Shah, Director Chromeni Steels said, "Hot Rolled and Cold Rolled stainless steel are technically and commercially different products. For example, to make Hot-Rolled Coils, one needs to have a furnace and hot rolled SS are roll-pressed at very high temperatures-over 1,700˚F whereas to make Cold Rolled coils only cold reduction mills is required, where the material is cooled (at room temperature) followed by annealing and/or tempers rolling. In terms of usage too, both products differ. It is surprising that the authorities have in the past treated these products as distinctly different products, but currently they are wrongly being clubbed, causing harmful and unwarranted distortions in the marketplace."

"This blanket anti-dumping and countervailing duties have made raw material imports prohibitively expensive, thus resulting into raw material shortage in the country. This lack of supply has created a kind of havoc among the stainless steel industry. The stainless steel prices have skyrocketed; from INR 132 per kg in March 2020 to INR 187 in November 2020; an increase of 42% in mere 9 months. The worst impact of this is on thousands of job-generating MSMEs. Due to tariff-induced exorbitant raw material prices, they are helpless and on the verge of closing businesses. Chromeni Steels has made a humble appeal to the authorities to consider the grievances of MSMEs, as hundreds of thousands of livelihoods depending on downstream segments are at stake," added Mr. Shah, Director Chromeni Steels.

About Chromeni Steels Private Limited

Chromeni Steels Private Limited is setting up one of India's largest integrated stainless steel plant in Mundra, Gujarat. In its first phase, Chromeni has set up Cold Rolled plant with a capacity of 0.7 million ton per annum. In the second phase, the company will add another 1 million ton capacity, and 4 million tons of HR coils by 2025. The project was envisaged during Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2017 and the ground-breaking ceremony was dedicated by Hon'ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijay Rupani in January 2018.

For more information contact:

Vishesh Singhvi
Chromeni Steels Private Limited
Email- [email protected]

Nachiket Kale / Mehul Mehta
Dickenson World
9920940808 / 9820280325
[email protected]