Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour announced Sunday an eight percent anti-dumping tariff on each ton of imported steel (around 408 EGP, or $53/ton) for three years, MENA reported.
Abdel Nour’s remarks came during a visit to a plant in the Suez Governorate along with Ahmed al-Wakeel, the head of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC.)
The eight percent tariff will be levied for a maximum period of three years, and to be slashed gradually from 408 EGP/ton to 175 EGP/ton until domestic steel manufacturers implement plans to allow them to meet increasing demand, Abdel Nour told reporters.
Citing documents submitted by local steel manufacturers whose production comprises 68 percent of the domestic industry, the minister said local steelmakers’ losses amounted to 496.25 million EGP during the first nine months of 2014 due to large stocks.
Earlier in October, Egypt announced a 7.3 percent temporary tariff with a minimum of 290 EGP ($45.5) per ton for a maximum period of 200 days, after the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) appealed to the Anti-Dumping and Subsidy authority at the Ministry of Industry and Trade to control the import of Chinese steel to protect national production.
Local steelmakers have also complained of increasing imports from Turkey, the world’s top exporter of reinforced steel, as a ton is imported at $435, while homemade steel is sold at $668/ton.
