South Africa Raises Import Tariffs on Some Metal Products

South African Government announced that as from March 11, 2011, import tariffs on the following metal products shall be raised:

1. Import tariff on tower post and lattice bar (South African HS Code: 7308.20.10) for telecommunication line or electric power circuit construction shall be raised to 15% from zero;

2. Resume the imposition of 5% import tariff on aluminum products including aluminum strip, pole (South African HS Code: 7604.10.35), aluminum section and profiled bar (7604.10.65), aluminum alloy hollow profile (7604.21.15), aluminum-alloy strip, pole (7604.29.15), and aluminum-alloy section and profiled bar (7604.29.65). In 2008, the South African Government once decided to cancel all the 5% import tariffs under implementation back then.

According to the statistics, in 2010, South Africa's total import value of the aforementioned products was about USD 84.00 million, of which the imports from China accounted for a large proportion.