India will complete ongoing antidumping investigations on steel imports by end of July so that the minimum import price (MIP), which does not comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) standards, can be replaced by an antidumping duty before the expiry of the MIP in August, an official at India’s Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday, June 21.

The ministry official said that the Directorate General for Anti Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) is in the last stage of investigating complaints of dumping of steel products, having completed hearings of all involved parties, and its final report will be submitted before the end of July, and will be followed by formal notification by the Ministry of Finance of imposition of antidumping duty. This will enable the Ministry of Commerce to replace the current MIP on steel imports with antidumping duty as the MIP is scheduled to lapse in August in any case, he added.

The ministry official, however, conceded that, as part of the official process, the MIP is still under review at the “highest level” to extend it or not beyond August and the matter is currently before the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as there have been a large number of conflicting issues with steel producers seeking an extension of the import protection, while consumers have filed complaints against its continuation.

According to officials, early replacement of the MIP with “definitive” antidumping duty is very critical for the Indian government with major steel exporters like China, Japan and South Korea having already communicated their intention to apply to the WTO as import protection measures imposed by India like safeguard duty and the MIP are not compliant under WTO rules.