Anti-dumping duties on imported billet and steel sheets are here to stay, with the Investment Ministry giving the thumbs up to extending its previous September decision to run for a total of three years, according to a ministry statement. The decision to tariff imports on cold-rolled, hot-rolled, galvanized, and pre-painted steel is a boost to local producers, but downstream industries oppose the decision due to the increased input costs by cutting off cheaper imported alternatives.

REMEMBER- EnterpriseAM reported exclusively last month that the decision was in the cards, despite manufacturers lobbying the government to rethink its decision.

Why this matters: An investigation by the ministry’s Trade Remedies Sector found that a recent uptick in these exports has significantly harmed the local industry, leading to lower sales, companies entering the red, and capacity at local producers being left unutilized. Maintaining the duties will give the sector room to grow as new billet production licenses are offered up, a government official tells EnterpriseAM.

Pressure from the duties will ease over the three years, with tariffs on cold-rolled steel falling throughout the three-year period from 13.7% to 12.5% alongside a reduction in the minimum cost per ton. Galvanized steel sheets will likewise see charges fall 14% to 13%, and pre-painted sheets from 14.5% to 13.5%, with similar decreases for the minimum cost per ton.

But products with no locally available alternative will be exempt, including antibacterial-coated steel sheets, galvanized sheets coated with plastics such as PET or VCM, and sheets coated with Plastisol protection layers of at least 200 microns. Also exempt are steel sheets coated with silicon-aluminum or zinc-aluminum-magnesium alloys under specific technical specifications, in addition to full hard, non-annealed cold-rolled coils, steel sheets with special dimensions, and galvanized sheets with zinc coatings of 450 or 600 grams per square meter.

Not everyone is happy with the decision, with Chamber of Commerce head and El Ashry Steel Chairman Ayman El Ashry telling us that it will push prices significantly higher and disrupt the market because local production can’t meet local demand. The decision also comes on top of a depreciating EGP, rising shipping costs, and import price increases that are already squeezing margins, he added.

The impact will be felt by all manufacturing industries, and consumers too, warns Chamber of Engineering Industries Chairman Mohamed El Mohandes in comments to EnterpriseAM. In addition to limited local supply, much of the domestic production does not meet the export-quality standards that some producers need for products like household appliances and electrical equipment, which in turn drives up prices for finished foods, he added.

DATA POINT- Imports of the targeted products add USD 1 bn to annual FX outflows through the import of 1 mn tons a year, our source told us. Between 2021 and 2024, billets imports increased 1213%, hot-rolled sheets 116%, and cold-rolled, colored, and galvanized sheets by 86%.

What’s next? Producers are putting together an urgent memorandum to the ministry outlining the negative effects of the decision on the steel industry, especially as new billet licenses are yet to be allocated, El Ashry tells us.

AND- A similar decision was also taken by the ministry to impose five-year anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese bus and truck tires. The move comes alongside a push to localize the auto feeder industry, including Chinese tiremaker Sailun Group’s USD 1 bn automotive tire plant that is set to come online this year and produce 600k truck and bus tires annually.

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