GCC to impose tariff on iron, steel products from May 15

dubai — The GCC nations have decided to impose tariff of $169 (Dh620) per tonnes on certain iron and steel products from May 15 in order to safeguard their local industry.

According to a filing published by the World Trade Organisation on Monday, the tariff will be imposed for three years on clad, plated or coated flat-rolled products of iron and non-alloy steel with a width of 600mm or more.

As per the filing, the safeguard tariff will fall to $153 (Dh561.5) per tonne in the second year and to $137 (Dh503) a tonne in the third year, Reuters reported.

However, the Gulf states last year said that they were considering introducing safeguard tariffs which the WTO allows if a certain industry is hit by a sudden and damaging surge in imports. Safeguard tariffs are generally imposed for certain period only.

In the last few months, governments around the world are adopting protectionism policies to safeguard their interests following the US President Donald Trump announced to impose customs duties on imports of aluminum and steel to the US by 25 per cent for steel and 10 per cent for aluminum from March 2018. This has resulted in trade war erupting among major global economies, especially China, the US and Europe.

A meeting was recently held in Dubai to discuss the imposition of tariff by the Trump administration which was attended by senior officials of Federation of Chambers of GCC and Gulf Aluminium Council.

Abdul Rahim Al Naqi, secretary general, Federation of Chambers of GCC, expects minor negative economic impact from the US move to impose duty on aluminium and steel.