On 11 August the South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced the imposition of a safeguard duty of 12% ad valorem on certain flat hot-rolled steel products classifiable under tariff subheadings 7211.14, 7211.19, 7225.30, 7225.40, 7225.99, 7226.91 and 7266.99. The safeguard duty is imposed up to and including 10 August 2018.
The safeguard duty is imposed on all countries from which flat hot-rolled steel products are imported or originate, excluding Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of the), Congo, Republic, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Arab Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic Republic, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Democratic Poeples (sic) Republic of, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, United Republic of, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of), Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The reason for the imposition of the safeguard duty is contained in the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) Report No 551.