India to introduce up to 30% tariffs on Chinese, Vietnamese steel imports

India will impose tariffs of between 12% and 30% on some steel products imported from China and Vietnam in a bid to safeguard and boost local industry, an Indian finance ministry order showed.

Welded stainless steel pipes and tubes exported by China, the world's largest producer of steel, and Vietnam, will be taxed for the next five years, the order from New Delhi issued on Sept. 10 showed.

Ties between the world's two most populous nations have been strained since their militaries clashed on their disputed Himalayan border in 2020, prompting New Delhi to tighten scrutiny of Chinese investments and halt major projects.

However, Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday that New Delhi was "not closed to business from China" but noted the issue was rather in which sectors and on what terms Beijing did business, without elaborating.

The Indian government initiated an anti-dumping investigation in August on certain steel products imported from Vietnam. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Vietnam's new leader To Lam in Beijing last month, in a sign that they are keen to strengthen ties as trade and investment grow and despite occasional clashes over boundaries in the South China Sea.