November 19, 2015 01:51:14 AM
SAO PAULO (Scrap Monster): The Brazilian Finance Minister Joaquim Levy stated that the country intends to raise import tariffs on steel goods. The move is aimed at protecting the local steel industry in the country. However, the minister declined to disclose the specific products for which tariffs will be raised. The rate of increase was also not detailed. The statement was made after an Economic Affairs Committee of the Senate public hearing.
Reacting to the Minister’s statement, local industry representatives noted that it expects the government to implement the decision at the earliest. Local producers have been demanding for an import tariff hike for some time now. Now that the Minister has hinted at a possible rise, the final decision is expected before the end of the current year, trade sources hoped.
The country had raised imports tariffs for 100 products including steel from around 14% to 25% in September 2012. However, the tariffs were restored to previous levels after one year.
According to most recent import statistics published by the country’s Foreign Trade Ministry, the steel sheet imports during the ten-month period from January to October this year dropped significantly by almost one-third from nearly 1 million mt to 740,487 mt. The imports of steel goods by the country during Jan-Oct ’15 totaled 3 million mt, down by nearly 13.5% when compared with the imports of 3.47 million mt a year ago. Brazil’s imports of steel goods had totaled 3.98 million during the entire year 2014.
Meantime, analysts at BTG Pactual noted that there seems to be no consensus on the willingness of the government to approve a higher tariff. It further added that the decision could lead to rise in imports of some steel products to between 15% and 20%.
