South Africa Imposes Hefty Tariffs on Chinese Steel
South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) announced on Friday that it would impose heavy tariffs on Chinese steel after an investigation revealed evidence of dumping of the product.
ITAC together the duty rate on Chinese structural steel at 74.98 percent, which is considerably higher than the 52.81 percent duties imposed after dumping of the product was discovered in 2024.
In 2024 and 2026, ITAC also found evidence of steel dumping by Thailand and responded by imposing tariffs of 9.12% and 20.32%, respectively.
The announcement Friday said the high import taxes have already been approved by South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, for a period of up to five years.
South African steelmakers and mineral processors have not been doing well in recent years. The industry has cited massive imports of cheap steel from China as one of the main reasons for its difficulties.
The ATAC investigation find Nearly 29,000 tonnes of structural steel will be dumped on the South African market between 2023 and 2024, with around 65% coming from China. The agency said the artificially low price of this steel, subsidized by China, made it about 20 percent cheaper than steel from South African producers.
The volume of imported steel has soared, while large local producers like ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa) have seen revenues collapse, leading to factory closures and job losses. Amsa had previously is the near-monopoly steel supplier to the railway industries of South Africa and neighboring countries that make up the South African Customs Union (SACU).
ITAC concluded that the influx of cheap imported steel was part of a deliberate “dumping” strategy aimed at weakening or destroying South African producers, leading to Friday’s tariffs as a protective measure. The main concern was structural steel, but ITAC also imposed high tariffs on other metal products from China, Japan and Taiwan.
“The new tariffs are expected to help domestic producers regain market share, stabilize prices and invest in maintaining production and employment. Analysts say the intervention will allow local companies to compete fairly while ensuring the long-term sustainability of steel used in construction projects,” Business Insider Africa reported Friday.
“This policy also follows wider international scrutiny: the United States has previously criticized South African steel exports as part of its trade remedies, highlighting the challenges of navigating global steel markets,” the report adds.
The Chinese government did not immediately react to the ITAC decision.
The steel dumping story is politically delicate because China and South Africa are both members of the BRICS economic bloc, designed to counter U.S.-led groups like the G7. Another member is Iran, which joined in 2024 and has visibly failed receiving a lot of help from its BRICS partners as Operation Epic Fury systematically eliminated the regime’s leaders.
South African officials say that in addition to the dumping of products, their economy suffers from “illicit trade”, ranging from unbranded cigarettes to fake medicines. The black market is currently growing faster than the formal economy, significantly reducing government tax revenue.
In January, British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) farm its last remaining factory and announced it would stop domestic production by the end of 2026, largely due to the impact of the illicit cigarette market. Company officials said that about 75 percent of the domestic market is now controlled by illicit manufacturers.
