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Informist, Friday, Jul. 4, 2025

MUMBAI - Trade and tariff-related talks of the US with its key trading partners, including India, are likely to provide cues to the domestic metal sector, particularly ahead of the deadline for reciprocal tariffs next week. A likely hike in safeguard duty on steel products may come as a near-term positive news for the sector which has been dealing with cheaper imports from foreign countries such as China. 

The government is likely to raise safeguard duty on steel products if imports remain high, Informist reported Friday, citing a top commerce ministry official. The government had imposed a 12% safeguard duty on some steel products for 200 days in April. During Apr-May, India's iron and steel imports had risen 12.3% on year to $3.67 billion. 

Investors are waiting for developments in trade deals of the US, the latest of which was with Vietnam Wednesday under which a 20% tariff will be imposed on imports from Vietnam to the US. The US will also be able to sell its products to Vietnam at zero tariff, US President Donald Trump had said on his Truth Social handle. However, no other positive trade deals were announced by the US since then.

The US administration is unlikely to strike a trade deal with India at least in the next two days and all options are on the table, government sources told Informist. "We would not compromise like Vietnam," the commerce ministry official said. The official said the US is also not very clear on what exactly it wants from the trade pact with India, which is acting as a hindrance to the negotiations.

This would come as a disappointing news for market participants who were expecting both the countries to sign a deal ahead of the reciprocal tariff deadline. In February, the Trump administration had imposed a 25% tariff on metals, which was then doubled to 25% in June. India's steel and aluminium exports to the US was $4.56 billion in 2024-25 (Apr-Mar). 

TOP HEADLINES

* Govt may hike safeguard duty on steel pdts if imports stay high, says source 
* Jindal Steel wins 50-year lease for iron ore, manganese mine in Odisha
* Vedanta Apr-Jun aluminium output up 1% on year, alumina output up 9%
* Govt levies countervailing duty on some copper wire imports from 4 nations
* Hind Zinc's Apr-Jun mined metal output up 1% YoY, record high for first qtr
* Importers can apply to DGFT till Jul 13 for authorisation to import met coke
* Lloyds Metals Apr-Jun provisional iron ore output flat on year at 4 mln tn
* APL Apollo Tubes' June quarter sales volume up 10% on year at 794,350 tonnes
* Coal India signs collaboration agreement with Hindustan Copper
* Govt extends low ash met coke, soda ash import restriction by 6 mos till Dec
* IPO Alert: German Green Steel files DRHP with SEBI for fresh issue, OFS
* Contributed INR 876 bln to exchequer in past 5 years, says Hindustan Zinc
* Jindal Steel starts galvanised steel production line at Angul steel plant
* Hindustan Copper, Indian Oil ink MoU, to jointly bid for copper blocks
* Sarda Energy gets Chhattisgarh environ body's nod for coal gasifier plant
* Lloyds Metals subscribes Hexa Energy MH3, Hexa Energy W2 shrs for INR 73 mln

Following are the resistance and support levels for the sector's key stocks for next week, as per calculations based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:

End

Reported by Anjana Therese Antony
Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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