Zero tariff on steel import may be extended

Zero tariff on steel import may be extended

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government might extend the recent lifting of import duties
on hot-rolled coil (HRC) and cold-rolled coil (CRC) steel if
their price in the international market remains high.

"It could be extended if global steel prices stay aloft," said
Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi, as quoted by Antara
on Friday.

The Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday the lifting of
import duties on the two key steel products for a year, as of
April 1. The import duty on HRC was previously 20 percent, and
that on CRC 25 percent.

The policy was taken to help local firms deal with the current
global shortage of steel and its rising demand, particularly in
China, Russia and Iraq, which has driven the price of steel (HRC)
up to about US$400 per ton since December last year.

The situation, explained Rini, disrupted local construction,
machinery and the electronics industries, as well as steel
product manufacturers, all of which have mostly been using
imported steel.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade previously dropped a ruling
that limited steel imports to help ease the problem.

The firms, however, were not satisfied with the ruling and
continued to demand the scrapping of steel import duties.

Local steel producers, on the other hand, objected to the
policy and the industries' the steel-using industries' demands,
saying that such a move would only hurt their business.

After much heated public debate, the ministry then gave in to
the firms and proposed that the Ministry of Finance issue the
recent decree lifting the duties.