In the next 30 days, 11 imported steel products will be subject to import quotas. If the maximum volume is exceeded, they will pay 25% Import Tax to enter the country. The decision was taken this Tuesday (23) by the Executive Management Committee (Gecex) of the Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex).
According to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (Mdic), the measure should come into force in around 30 days. This is because Mercosur partner countries will have to analyze the Camex resolution before publication in the Official Gazette of the Union. It will also be necessary to wait for the Federal Revenue Service to publish an ordinance regulating the quotas.
Valid for 12 months from publication, the measure aims to prevent unfair competition with national steel. In 2023, reported the Mdic, the volume of imports of 11 steel products exceeded the average imports between 2020 and 2022 by 30%. In recent months, Brazilian steelmakers have claimed that there is an invasion of Chinese steel, which arrives in Brazil more cheaper than national products.
Currently, the Import Tax for the 11 products that will have quotas varies from 9% to 14.4%. The Mdic informed that it is studying the imposition of quotas on four other items derived from steel. The products were not included on the list now because the Mdic is studying whether the increase in imports last year was due to price variations, rather than growth in quantity.
According to the Mdic, technical studies show that the quotas will not have an impact on consumer prices or the production chain. “During the 12 months, the government will monitor market behavior. The government’s expectation is that the decision will contribute to reducing the idle capacity of the national steel industry,” the ministry said in a statement.
>> The 11 steel products that will have import quotas are the following:
• Flat rolled products, made of iron or non-alloy steel, with a width equal to or greater than 600 millimeters (mm), coated with aluminum-zinc alloys;
• Flat rolled products, of iron or non-alloy steel, with a width equal to or greater than 600 mm, veneered or plated, or coated, galvanized by another process, with a thickness of less than 4.75 mm;
• Flat rolled products, of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width equal to or greater than 600 mm, not clad or coated, in rolls simply cold rolled, of a thickness greater than 1 mm but less than 3 mm;
• Flat-rolled products, of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, not clad or coated, in rolls simply cold-rolled, of a thickness of 0.5 mm or more, but not more to 1 mm;
• Flat-rolled products, of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, hot-rolled, not clad or coated, in rolls, simply hot-rolled, of a thickness of more than 4.75 mm, but not more than 10 mm;
• Other flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, not clad or coated, in rolls, simply hot-rolled, of a thickness of 3 mm or more but less than 4.75mm;
• Flat-rolled products, of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, not clad or coated, in rolls, simply hot-rolled, of a thickness of less than 3 mm, with a minimum limit of elasticity 275 Mpa;
• Other flat-rolled products, of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, not clad or coated, in rolls, simply hot-rolled, of a thickness of less than 3 mm;
• Other wire rods of iron or non-alloy steel, circular in section, with a diameter of less than 14 mm
• Pipes of the type used in oil or gas pipelines, welded longitudinally by immersed arc, with a circular section, with an outer diameter greater than 406.4 mm, made of iron or steel;
• Other pipes of the type used in oil or gas pipelines, longitudinally welded, of circular section, with an outer diameter greater than 406.4 mm, of iron or steel.
>> List of four products that may have quotas:
• Other uncoated, seamless steel alloy tubes for well casing;
• Other pipes of the type used in oil or gas pipelines;
• Other pipes for casing wells, production or supply, of the types used in the extraction of oil or gas, made of iron or steel;
• Other pipes welded from other sections.
