The US has opened an official anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation into imports of Egyptian rebar, alongside similar probes into exports from Algeria, Vietnam, and Bulgaria, according to a notice (pdf) issued by the US International Trade Commission. The move follows a complaint from six major American steel producers who allege that these countries are dumping rebar in the US market at unfair prices and benefiting from state subsidies that violate US trade laws.

The commission is required to issue a preliminary determination by 21 July on whether Egyptian and other targeted rebar exports have materially harmed or threatened US industry. If the ruling finds merit to the claims, the US could impose anti-dumping duties and additional tariffs on rebar imports from Egypt.

The US investigation is part of a broader trend of increasing trade protectionism that has already hit Egyptian industries — particularly steel and petrochemicals. Earlier this year, the Trump administration imposed a 25% blanket tariff on all steel imports, while the EU slapped a 15.6% temporary tariff on Egyptian hot rolled coil, pending a final decision in October. Egyptian steel exports have already taken a hit, dropping 4.0% y-o-y in 2024 to USD 2.3 bn, according to data from the Export Council for Building Materials.

But it's not just Egypt’s metal exports facing anti-dumping allegations, with Morocco imposing temporary anti-dumping duties of up to 92.2% on Egyptian PVC imports earlier this week, citing similar dumping concerns. Moroccan authorities have also opened probes into galvanized wire from Egypt and maintain duties on several other products, including carpets and canned tomatoes.

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