New Delhi, June 6 (KNN) The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the reinstatement of customs duty on imports of ferro-molybdenum from South Korea for a duration of two years, reported Financial Express.

Invoking the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, DGTR, India’s trade defence mechanism body has recommended a 5 per cent duty on ferro-molybdenum for the first year and 3.75 per cent for the second year.

The imposition of duties will have to be notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs under the Department of Revenue.

The duties proposed are as per the bilateral safeguard rules of the India-Korea CEPA, which allows such measures if imports constitute substantial cause of serious injury or threat to domestic industry.

Duties that can be applied will have to be at rates applied on Most Favoured Nations for trade, which means everyone except those on the negative list.

Last year, DGTR on a complaint by some Indian companies and the Indian Ferro Alloys Producers’ Association, launched an investigation into the surge in imports from South Korea of the alloy of iron and molybdenum after the trade agreement brought down duties to nil in 2017-18.

The investigation found that the entire increase in demand between October 2021 and March 2022, which has been considerable, was met entirely through imports.

With the duty removal, imports of the alloy from South Korea increased to 39 per cent of the total demand from 23 per cent in 2018-19. As a proportion of Indian production it increased to 71 per cent from 32 per cent in recent period.

The alloy is used by the steel industry to add molybdenum to steel to increase its strength, hardness and resistance to corrosion.  (KNN Bureau ​​​​​​)