LONDON: Iranian steelmakers have asked the government to raise import duties for certain steels by up to 40 percent as protectionism in the global steel sector gathers pace amid a flood of cheap sales mostly from top producer China.
“We have asked the government to raise import duties by up to 40 percent on flat steel products. For long products we plan to ask for duties of up to 30 percent,” said Bahador Ahramian, a board member of the Iran Steel Producers Association (ISPA).
There was no reply from Iran’s Ministry of Mine, Trade and Industry to Reuters e-mails.
Earlier this year, Iran raised import duties on certain steel imports to between 10 and 20 percent in response to a request from ISPA and in line with the government’s bid to diversify the economy away from oil.
“We do not have proper anti-dumping duties in place in Iran and we hope these measures will function like anti-dumping duties in practice. Most of the steel imports into Iran are coming from China,” added Ahramian.
Steelmakers seek import duty hikes
