Exclude finished steel products in RCEP – Steel Secretary

27th Aug 2018

India’s steel ministry has strongly opposed the inclusion of finished steel products in the proposed regional free-trade agreement, saying it would have an adverse impact on the industry that’s recovering from a crisis. Dr Aruna Sharma, steel secretary, told ET in an interview that “We believe in multilateralism, we believe in fairness, we believe in the WTO principles. But these should not be hitting Indian industries. We are very clear as far as steel is concerned it should be out of RECP.”

Dr Sharma said only ingredients and products associated with steel-making such as coking coal, ferro nickel, ferro iron, stainless steel scrap and scrap should be included in the agreement. She said “This will help build volumes under RCEP. In any case, we would be importing these, so India can claim credit for their inclusion in the RCEP. But finished steel products should be out.”

A group of ministers is looking into aspects of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, after many ministries and departments expressed reservations about the contours of the agreement. The RCEP includes the 10 ASEAN members, China, Australia, India, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.

Source: THE ECONOMIC TIMES