The steel industry in India is bracing itself for potential fallout from the US administration’s new tariffs on steel imports. Industry workers and experts expect that cheaper steel will flood into the country, putting pressure on local producers.
Under the 25% tariff, companies like China and South Korea may find it too expensive to export to the US. This could lead to a surge in cheap steel being dumped in India, benefiting businesses such as Sun Techpro Engineering, which employs over 200 million Indians.
However, not everyone is optimistic about the development. The Indian Steel Association, representing all Indian steelmakers, is concerned that cheaper imports will increase competition and impact efforts to produce steel more cleanly. High levels of greenhouse gas emissions from current production could be cut in the interest of keeping profits up.
India’s steel industry is set to grow rapidly due to urbanization and industrial expansion, with production expected to reach 300 million tons by 2028. However, the increased demand poses a challenge for reducing emissions, which currently account for around 12% of India’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The Indian government has pledged $1.72 billion to help the steel industry transition to cleaner methods of production. But experts warn that most new expansion plans are still based on coal-based blast furnaces, which emit more pollutants.
India aims to produce 500 gigawatts of clean power by the end of this decade and go net-zero by 2070. With climate change goals in mind, industry leaders recognize the need to reduce emissions but are concerned about the cost implications.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/trump-steel-india-climate-change-0e242ee521a15759e73278304affba0b