India's steel industry wants a 25 percent safeguard duty placed on all steel imports as steel products sourced from countries with whom India has a free trade agreement (FTA) have risen substantially, a senior executive from JSW Steel said on Monday.

"India's imports from FTA partners rose 77 percent (in the current fiscal)," said Seshagiri Rao, JSW's joint managing director and group chief financial officer.

Rao reiterated a longstanding industry demand to not include steel as part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a China-initiated free trade zone among countries that will encompass 45 percent of the world's population.

First Published:Sept 23, 2019 3:47 PM IST