Egypt imposes import tariffs on sugar, rebar

In an effort to stem losses in Egypt’s sugar and steel industries, Minister of Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour today announced plans to impose protectionist tariffs on imports of white sugar and rebar.

White sugar will be subject to a 20 percent import duty, or a minimum of LE700 per ton, while the government investigates the increase in cheap imported sugar arriving in Egypt. The new taxes will be put in place for up to 200 days while the investigation is carried out, according to a press statement.

The investigations, the minister said, will be carried out in accordance with World Trade Organization regulations. The WTO allows countries to impose import tariffs when it can prove local industry is being damaged by a flood of below-market-price imports.

According to Abdel Nour, the decision to raise import taxes on sugar was made to protect the interests of sugar mills and growers of sugar cane and sugar beets. The ministry acted on its own initiative in an attempt to stem what Abdel Nour describes as “an onslaught of imports of white sugar” due to a dip in international prices to levels “not seen for more than 20 years.”

The influx of cheap imported sugar threatened to cause local industry losses of up to LE1 billion, the minister said.

Meanwhile, rebar, the reinforced steel bars used in the construction of concrete buildings, will be subject to an eight percent import tariff, or a minimum of LE408 per ton for the next three years. This extends tariffs introduced last year in an attempt to protect domestic industry.

The decision to extend tariffs for rebar imports came in response to requests for anti-dumping measures from Egypt’s Chamber of Metallurgical Industries, which represents Egypt’s steel makers.

The ministry statement did not clarify when the new tariffs will be imposed, but an anonymous official told Reuters news agency the steel import duties will come into effect May 2, while the new taxes on sugar would be imposed following publication in Egypt’s official gazette.