India Being Net Importer Of Steel Is Matter Of Concern, Says Tata Steel CEO Narendran

Piyush Goyal, Commerce and Industry Minister, also affirmed to the steel industry that the country will not settle for unfair taxes and would work to figure out a fair deal for domestic players.

The company executive noted that the government will intervene if imports continue to remain elevated. 

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India is a net importer of steel and this is a matter of concern, Tata Steel CEO and managing director, T V Narendran said on Tuesday. Speaking at the ISA Steel Conclave, the company executive noted that the government will intervene if imports continue to remain elevated. 

Elaborating on the problems of India being a net importer of steel, Narendran noted, “I think it's a little bit of a concern because internationally steel prices are still a bit soft because of China... You heard the (commerce) minister Piyush Goyal saying that if imports increase the government will look at what it can do to help us.”

Piyush Goyal, Commerce and Industry Minister, also affirmed to the steel industry that the country will not settle for unfair taxes and would work to figure out a fair deal for the producers and exporters. He added that India has already raised concerns about the carbon tax with the European Union (EU) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). 

Notably, the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), also known as the carbon tax, is an import duty that will be implemented from January 1, 2026. However, the EU requires domestic firms from seven carbon-intensive sectors like steel, cement, fertilisers, hydrocarbon products, and others to share data with the EU about carbon emissions from October 1 this year. 

“I will assure you that we are extremely concerned about CBAM... We are taking it up with the WTO very very seriously. We shall try to work and fight to get a fair deal for the Indian producers and exporters and nobody is complacent about CBAM,” Goyal said. 

India’s steel imports increased to 0.46 million tonne (MT) last month, against exports of 0.24 MT, data from SteelMint India revealed. Commenting about the decarbonisation plans of Tata Steel Netherlands, the CEO said, “We have already given a proposal which will be discussed with the Dutch government.”

Narendran elaborated that after getting funding in the UK, Tata Steel is planning to secure financial assistance from the Netherlands government to implement its decarbonisation plans. Notably, the company has a 7 MT per annum plant in Ijmuiden in the Netherlands. The firm aims to produce carbon-neutral steel by 2050 in Europe.