India notifies plans to bring more steel items under quality control

India has notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) its intention to bring more steel and stainless steel items under its quality control order — a move that is not likely to go down well with some members such as the EU. “While New Delhi has explained that the move was necessary to ensure safety of infrastructure and health of the people, some members look at it as a non-tariff barrier to check imports,” a government official told. According to the draft ‘Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Order, 2019’ circulated by the Steel Ministry recently, mandatory testing requirements from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have been prescribed for two categories of products. Stampings/laminations/cores of transformers (with or without winding) have to be made from BIS standard marked steel sheet and strip conforming to certain Indian Standard (IS) specifications, according to the draft order. Stainless steel pipes and tubes, too, shall have to be made from stainless steel products, as per specific IS prescription. “The order…..applies to domestic production as well as imports……no person shall manufacture, store for sale, sell, distribute or import any such products given in the Table 2 (of the Order), which do not conform to the requirements specified….,” the draft order said. India has already brought 50 carbon steel and three stainless steel products under the ambit of its quality control through two previous orders.