CAPE TOWN: Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has formally requested that South Africa be excluded from US duties on steel and aluminium.
The Department of Trade and Industry said SA’s ambassador to the US, Mninwa Mahlangu, has been engaging with White House national security council staff, the US state department and the Office of the US Trade Representative on the tariffs. Davies has also had a teleconference with Curtis Mahoney, the deputy US trade representative for investment, services, labour, environment, Africa, China and the western hemisphere.
The South African Iron and Steel Institute (Saisi) said customs data show that total domestic exports of primary steel products to all countries in 2017 came to 2.4-million tonnes or about 35 percent of SA’s estimated primary steel output of six million tonnes. The value of these exports was about R26-billion. The US makes up only about 10 percent of this.
As “friendly nations”, these countries have until May 1 to negotiate levies on steel and aluminium. But their exemption means South African steel exports to the US will be hit with a 25 percent duty.
Paolo Trinchero, CEO of the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction, said SA’s formal submissions “will involve a substantial amount of time and money, with no guarantee of success”.
He says the tariff applies to primary steel and some secondary products such as tube and pipe. Products with high value-add such as machinery are not included, Trinchero says. “I think the US approach is to flag items which are easy to classify and ring- fence.
