How are Trade Measures Impacting JSW Steel? Insights from CEO Jayant Acharya

The Indian steel industry is actively negotiating with the federal government to implement trade measures addressing the surge in imports, particularly from China and Vietnam, JSW Steel Chief Executive Jayant Acharya informed Reuters on Tuesday.**

India became a net steel importer in the fiscal year ending in March, with finished steel imports hitting a five-year high in April and May, according to provisional government data.

“The Indian steel industry is engaging with the government. We plan to request certain measures,” Acharya stated, without detailing the specific measures under consideration.

India’s steel and trade ministries have been discussing the rising imports, Reuters reported last month.

Exports and Coking Coal

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JSW Steel projects that exports will constitute 10-15% of total sales this year, Acharya said, noting that while international markets remain subdued, domestic demand in India is exceptionally strong.

Separately, Acharya denied that the company is in talks with Australian miner Whitehaven Coal for a stake in its Blackwater metallurgical coal mine.

Whitehaven announced in January that it was exploring selling about 20% of Blackwater to global steel producers as strategic joint venture partners.

However, JSW Steel continues to seek coking coal assets abroad, including in Australia and Canada, Acharya mentioned.

Acharya also stated that the company is open to importing coking coal from Mongolia but currently has no plans in that direction.

He opposed a proposal from the trade remedies body to cap imports of low ash metallurgical coke, a steelmaking fuel.

“Imposing duties on materials that we lack domestically is not strategically sound,” Acharya said.

Last month, Reuters reported that India’s steel ministry also opposed limiting met coke imports, citing potential risks to domestic production.