On 26 February 2026, the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) announced the creation of a temporary rebate facility for imports, with comments due by 27 March 2026.
The proposed Rebate Item reads: “Grooved couplings, for a pipe with an outside diameter of 42 mm or more but not exceeding 324mm, classifiable in tariff subheading 7307.11.90, in such quantities, at such times and subject to such conditions as the International Trade Administration Commission may allow by specific permit, provided the goods are not available in the SACU market”; and “Other cast grooved couplings, for a pipe with an outside diameter of 42mm or more but not exceeding 324 mm, classifiable in tariff subheadings 7307.19.80 and 7307.19.90, in such quantities, at such times and subject to such conditions as the International Trade Administration Commission may allow by specific permit, provided the goods are not available in the SACU market”.
The reasoning for the application is:
- Currently, the market for grooved couplings is fully supplied by imports following the discontinuation of local manufacturing. Despite the domestic industry’s attempts to re-enter the market, a number of challenges, including increased competition from low-priced imports, have prevented it from doing so.
While there is a need to protect the domestic industry to incentivise its re-entry into the market, there is also a need to balance this against the need to avoid shortages in the supply of the product in the short to medium term, so as not to unfairly disadvantage importers of the product in the interim period when domestic manufacturing has not yet commenced.