ISA ASKS CENTRE TO EXTEND MIP ON 66 PRODUCTS

New Delhi: Primary steel producers body Indian Steel Association on Tuesday urged the government to extend the minimum import price on 66 steel products for another six months. In a bid to protect the domestic steel firms from cheap imports, the government in February imposed MIP on 173 steel grades for six months. Then in August, while extending the MIP for two months, the government pruned the list to include 66 steel products. “Demand for these steel products has not yet picked up domestically. The situation would be compounded adversely if these are now imported at dismally low prices and inevitably lead to an unwarranted glut in the domestic steel market,” said ISA secretary general Sanak Mishra. He said that the industry is not urging for protection but fair competition for the products in the country.