A slate of safeguard tariffs on imported steel products goes into effect today, under a 200-day protection measure announced by the Investment Ministry and published in the Official Gazette. The tariffs include 16.2% of CIF value on steel billets, 11.1% on cold-rolled steel, 13.6% on hot-rolled steel, 12.6% on galvanized steel sheets, and 4.9% on colored steel sheets.

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Not all imports are affected: The ministry carved out full exemptions for several niche steel imports, including cold-rolled sheets for double-sided enamel coating, sheets with anti-bacterial protective layers, galvanized sheets with 200-micron-plus Plastisol coatings, and colored sheets with zinc-aluminum mixture bases.

The rationale: The decision is meant to protect local industry and encourage domestic production at a time when both Egyptian and foreign players are planning new steel investments in Egypt, a government source told EnterpriseAM.

We knew this was coming: The Madbouly government had been mulling protective measures for months, with a government official telling EnterpriseAM in May that the influx of cheap imports was undercutting local producers.

Imports have squeezed FX reserves and undermined local production: Egypt imports around 1 mn tons of the steel products annually, which has contributed to a rise in USD outflows and slowed progress on import substitution, the source said.

But not everyone is happy about it — especially local manufacturers: Industry groups warn the new tariffs will raise input costs across sectors that rely on steel imports for production. Mohamed El Mohandes, head of the Chamber of engineering industries division at the Chambers of Commerce, told EnterpriseAM that prices for key inputs such as steel sheets are expected to rise. The chamber is organizing a meeting of affected companies to draft a memo to the Prime Minister and Industry Minister to request a reversal of the decision.

Iron prices are already climbing: Ayman El Ashry, chairman of Ashry Steel, told us that billet is already in short supply and the duties could drive further price hikes. His company is among several bidding for one of eight new billet manufacturing licenses aimed at easing the supply-demand gap and reducing reliance on imports.

Construction players are sounding the alarm: Steelmakers have already hiked prices by EGP 2.1k per ton, a source from the building materials sector told EnterpriseAM. This comes after a long period of price stability.

Home appliances could see price hikes: Hassan Mabrouk, head of the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ Home Appliances Division, told EnterpriseAM the tariffs will impact the prices of most electrical devices, including refrigerators and washing machines, pushing them up 5-6%. The move contradicts government directives for home appliance providers to reduce their prices.

Some steel types simply aren’t produced here: Mabrouk stressed that several types of sheet metal used in manufacturing are not produced locally, leaving manufacturers with no option but to continue importing and absorb the higher cost. Local production only covers 30% of demand, with most of it going to export markets, he added.

The broader market context makes things even trickier: Egyptian producers are still adjusting to fallout from EU and US steel tariffs, which have squeezed exporters. Mohamed Hanafy, head of the Chamber of Metallurgical Industries, said 26 Egyptian iron factories are currently short on billet. Authorities hope the new steel billet production licenses will help fill that gap and unlock investment.

Auto components players say output could drop: Aly Tawfik, head of Auto Feeder Association, warned that the new measures will hurt auto feeder industries, raising costs and reducing production capacity, especially if they are prolonged. While tariffs on finished steel products can be justified, he said, duties on raw materials hurt downstream industry.

REMEMBER- Earlier this year, the US imposed a blanket 25% tariff on all steel imports — including those from Egypt — while the EU introduced a temporary 15.6% anti-dumping duty on Egyptian hot-rolled coils. These measures made it harder for Egyptian firms to compete abroad and contributed to a sharp drop in exports to key markets including the US, Italy, and Spain, with industry figures warning of lasting economic fallout.

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