The Indian government on Tuesday (December 30, 2025) decided to impose import duty of 11-12 percent on select steel products for three years with the aim of curbing the increasing cheap steel imports from China. This fee will be 12 percent in the first year, will reduce to 11.5 percent in the second year and 11 percent in the third year.

Reason for sharp increase in imports from China
India, the world’s second largest crude steel producer, is facing growing pressure on the domestic steel industry due to a sudden surge in low-cost steel imports from China in recent months and serious anti-dumping concerns.

According to the notification published in the official gazette of the government, this import duty will not be applicable on steel coming from some developing countries, but China, Vietnam and Nepal will be affected by it. However, special steel products like stainless steel have been kept out of the scope of this duty.

Emphasis on protecting domestic industry from loss
The Steel Ministry says that it wants to protect the domestic steel industry from losses caused by cheap and poor quality imports. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) after investigation found that there has been a sudden and significant increase in imports, which threatens to cause serious injury to the domestic industry.

Temporary fee has already been imposed
Earlier in April 2025, the Government of India had imposed a temporary duty of 12 percent on steel imports from all countries for 200 days, the period of which ended in November 2025.

Warning and petition of industry organizations
Indian Stainless Steel Development Association had already raised this issue. In August 2025, the organization had filed a petition in DGTR demanding imposition of anti-dumping duty on cheap steel imports.

impact of global trade tensions
This step of India has come at a time when global trade tensions regarding Chinese steel exports are increasing. After US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel imports, Chinese steel reached the markets of other countries, due to which many countries tightened their trade protection measures. South Korea and Vietnam have also imposed anti-dumping duty on steel coming from China this year.

Whenever beautiful actresses of the 60-70s are mentioned in Hindi cinema, Mumtaz’s name is first remembered. His journey is no less than a film script. His start was very modest, but the path was full of difficulties and finally a dazzling life was seen. There was a time when Mumtaz was considered only the ‘heroine for higher’ of stunt films.

Mumtaz, born in Mumbai on 31 July 1947, was Mumtaz Begum Jahan Dehalvi. He entered the film world as a child artist at the age of just 11 years. She continued to move forward on the strength of her confidence and hard work.

Shining identity in stunt films
The first major turn of Mumtaz’s career came from the film ‘Faulad’ released in 1963, in which he played the lead role with famous wrestler and actor Dara Singh. It was an action film. He was cast with Dara Singh in action films like ‘Sikander-e-Azam’, ‘Raka’, ‘Veer Bhimsen’, ‘Tarzan Cums to Delhi’, ‘Rustom-e-Hind’, and ‘Dakaru Mangal Singh’.

In these films, Mumtaz was sometimes seen running swords, sometimes climbing trees and doing stunts. He played a lot of collision with villains in films and played a rich character. Mumtaz acted in about 16 films with Dara Singh, out of which 12 films were successful at the box office. The industry awarded her the tag of ‘heroine of stunt films’.

Heart won by acting
However, this tag also distanced him from big banners and star heroes. Many actors, especially like Shashi Kapoor and Jeetendra, shy away from working with them, Mumtaz did not give up. She showed people through the 1967 film ‘Ram Aur Shyam’ and in the 1969 film ‘Do Rasta’ that she can play not only the stunt scene, but also the emotion and romance scenes.

In 1970, she received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for his strong performance in the film ‘Toy’. Apart from this, in 1996, he was also awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mumtaz’s most famous pair was with Rajesh Khanna. The two worked together in eight films and every film proved to be a hit. In films like his chemistry on screen, especially ‘Prem Kahani’ and ‘Aapi Kasam’, left an indelible mark on the hearts of the audience.

Distance made from films after marriage
When Mumtaz was on his career peak in 1974, he married Mayur Madhwani and kept distance from films. After marriage, he kept distance from the industry for a few years and gave priority to the family.

In 1990, Mumtaz once again made a comeback with the film ‘Antaris’, but the film could not run. After this, he retired from the film world, but a serious turn took place in his life when he came to know of cancer. He immediately decided to get treatment and got a difficult and painful treatment from chemotherapy to surgery in the US, but mentally she did not give up and returned to heal.

Message given for every woman struggling with cancer
Mumtaz said in an interview at that time, “I want to tell every woman who is struggling with cancer that this is not the end. If a woman like me can overcome it, then anyone can do it. Don’t give up courage, life is very beautiful.”

Trump Tariff: US President Donald Trump has announced to increase the tariff on foreign steel imports from 25% to 50%. This step has come at a time when tension is at the peak in the trade relations of important minerals and technology between the US and China. Trump announced this at the US Steel’s Mon Valley Works-Irwin plant on Friday (May 30), saying that America’s future should be based on the poor steel of Shanghai, but on the strength and pride of Pittsburgh.

The US has decided to increase the tariff on steel because it wants to protect domestic steel growers. Apart from this, we want to take initiative to strengthen the US construction industry. America wants to hurt them financially by creating business pressure on China. Efforts are being made to strengthen the US Steel-Nippon Deal behind increasing the tariff. Explain that industries like America’s housing, automotive and construction are highly dependent on steel. Increasing tariffs can increase costs in these areas, due to which the prices of products can also go up. This can cause additional burden on consumers. However, the decision to increase tariffs will reduce trust in imports from China, Canada, Europe.

US Steel and Nippon Deal
Donald Trump announced a new blockbuster deal with Japan’s Nippon Steel American company US Steel, but the company will remain under US control. The arrangement includes the provision of an American leadership team and a special veto power (“Golden Share”). Although the clear details of this deal have not yet been made public, it is still presented as a strategy to protect the American company from foreign acquisitions.

Unions concerned suspicion on deal
The United Steelworkers Union has raised questions about the blockbuster deal. He believes that the nippon would not invest without complete ownership, as he said earlier. Because of this, the union is questioning the transparency of this deal.

India Temporary tariff on China: The Government of India is going to impose a temporary tariff (security duty) of 12% on steel imports soon. According to the report of Reuters, the decision aims to ban cheap steel imports from China and other countries, which has become a big challenge for the country’s domestic steel mills over the years. This tariff is being called a “security fee”, which was recommended by the Director General of Treatment (DGTR) to implement it. This fee can remain in force for 200 days.

What do you say data?
Despite being the second largest crude steel producer in the world, India has become a net importer of steel ready for the second consecutive year in 2024-25. According to government data, India’s finished steel imports reached 9.5 million metric tonnes last year, which is the highest in 9 years. China, South Korea and Japan have contributed 78% to India’s total steel import. Due to this increasing import, small steel companies of the country have been forced to reduce production and cut jobs.

Impact of DGTR investigation and recommendation
In December last year, DGTR started an investigation as to whether cheap steel imports are harming domestic companies. Investigation revealed that the existence of domestic industries is in danger due to foreign steel floods. After this, DGTR recommended 12% tariff in March. This recommendation is now under consideration with the Finance Ministry and according to sources it can be implemented soon.

Big steel companies will get relief from tariffs
The country’s leading steel manufacturers such as JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India demanded constant control of cheap imports from the government. These companies say that if these tariffs were not installed, the domestic steel industry would have suffered heavy losses and the jobs of millions of people would be in danger.