Posted on 19 Mar 2026
Egypt has decided to impose safeguard measures on imported billets following its affirmative final ruling of the investigation, according to the latest release issued by WTO Committee on Safeguards on March 12.
The targeted products are semi-finished products of iron or non-alloy steel (billets) which fall under HS code 72.07 of the Egyptian Harmonized Customs Tariff, according to the release.
The proposed measure takes the form of an ad valorem tariff increase combined with a minimum specific duty. The specific measures are listed in the chart below:
Period | 2 Apr 2026-13 Sep 2026 | 14 Sep 2026-13 Sep 2027 | 14 Sep 2027-13 Sep 2028 |
Ad valorem rate (% of CIF) | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Minimum specific duty (EGP/tonne) | 3412 | 3120 | 2860 |
Notably, there will be an annual exemption of 176,770 tonnes of the imported steel semis from the safeguard measures, which won't compromise the measure's ability to remedy injury, according to the release.
The investigation was initiated on September 10 last year. Its investigation period covered 2021-2024 and to assess the injury of imported billets on domestic makers, the probe garnered responses from makers which supplied 81% of all locally made billets in 2024, the release noted.
Egypt imported about 1.68 million tonnes of billets in 2024, surging by 107% on year from the 2023 level, the investigation revealed. The rise in billet imports has dealt a heavy blow to the domestic industry, as sales of domestic products had declined by 22% on year in 2024, while profits among domestic makers slumped by a huge 56% on year, the release pointed out.
Source:Mysteel Global
