On 16 March the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) called for comment, by 13 April 2021, on the proposed creation of a rebate provision of ordinary customs and safeguard duties on:
- “Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600mm or more, in coils, not further worked than hot-rolled, pickled, of a thickness of 3mm or more but less than 4.75mm, classifiable in tariff subheading 7208.26, in such quantities, at such times and subject to such conditions as the International Trade Administration Commission may allow by specific permit, provided the products are not available in the SACU market.”; and
- “Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600mm or more, in coils, not further worked than hot-rolled, pickled, of a thickness of less than 3mm, classifiable in tariff subheading 7208.27, in such quantities, at such times and subject to such conditions as the International Trade Administration Commission may allow by specific permit, provided the products are not available in the SACU market.”
The application was lodged by Steelbank Merchants (Pty) Ltd who reasoned that there is no domestic manufacturer of the flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of width of 600mm or more, hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated, classifiable under tariff subheadings 7208.26 and 7208.27 of the grade and specifications required for various applications in the automotive industry. In addition, that currently the customs and safeguard duties incurred on the subject products are passed on to the end users.