Anti-dumping duty on electrical steel may push transformer costs, impact grid expansion: GTRI

New Delhi: Any move to impose an anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled grain-oriented electrical steel (CRGO), which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of India's imports to meet domestic requirements, could increase transformer manufacturing costs and slow the country's power grid expansion, Thin Tank GTRI said on Friday.

The commerce ministry's arm, Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), has initiated an anti-dumping probe against imports of CRGO and amorphous metals from China, Japan, Korea and Russia, following a complaint by JSW JFE Electrical Steel Nashik Pvt Ltd.

The investigation, initiated on June 22, 2026, covers imports from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, while the injury analysis covers 2022-23 to 2024-25.


GTRI said that every power and distribution transformer uses CRGO steel in its magnetic core.

The specialised electrical steel minimises energy losses and is indispensable for efficient electricity transmission and distribution.

Demand for CRGO is expected to surge as India invests Rs 9.15 lakh crore to expand its power grid by 2032, adding 1,91,000 circuit kilometres of transmission lines and more than doubling transformer capacity to 2,342 GVA (Gigavolt-Amperes), it said.

"Yet India remains overwhelmingly dependent on imports," the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said.

Annual CRGO consumption is estimated at 4,00,000-4,50,000 tonnes, while domestic production is only 40,000-50,000 tonnes.

Nearly 90 per cent of India's requirements are imported, mainly from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.

"The move (initiation of the probe) has raised concerns that imposing anti-dumping duties on a product for which India imports nearly 90 per cent of its requirements could increase transformer costs and slow the country's ambitious power-grid expansion," GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said.

He said that with the domestic output meeting less than one-tenth of the country's demand, higher duties could raise prices without materially reducing import dependence, potentially slowing investments in transmission infrastructure, renewable-energy integration and electricity distribution.

Jsquare Electrical Steel Nashik Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSW JFE Electrical Steel Pvt Ltd, has acquired thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel India Pvt Ltd, which manufactures grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) in India with its facility located in Nashik, Maharashtra.

GTRI noted that CRGO imports are already subject to mandatory BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) quality certification.

"Every imported coil must meet Indian standards before it can be sold, making the investigation a dispute over pricing rather than product quality. The product was also excluded from safeguard duties because of India's continued dependence on imports," Srivastava said.