By Manvi Pant
(Reuters) -India’s Jindal Stainless said on Wednesday that the launch of an anti-dumping investigation by the government into cheap stainless steel imports has been delayed due to trade uncertainty stemming from fresh U.S. tariffs on Indian goods.
The Indian Stainless Steel Development Association – a domestic trade body of which the company is a member – filed a petition with the federal trade ministry’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) in late July, Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal said in a post-earnings call.
India faces the imposition of a 25% tariff on its shipments to the U.S. from Friday, and President Donald Trump has warned of “very substantial” additional levies because of New Delhi’s oil imports from Russia.
The DGTR will likely take two to three more months to start the probe, Jindal said.
Indian mills have been grappling with higher imports of cheaper stainless steel from countries, including China and Vietnam.
Local demand for the finished product – used in logistics, the automotive industry, home appliances and the industrial sector – stayed strong in the April-June quarter, supported by strong manufacturing activity and government spending.
Jindal Stainless posted an 11% rise in first-quarter profit to 7.15 billion rupees (about $82 million) earlier in the day.
Its domestic sales accounted for 91% of total sales, with consolidated net revenue rising 8.2% to 102.07 billion rupees.
($1 = 87.6430 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Manvi Pant; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
