Brazil sets import quotas, tax for 11 steel products (updated)

Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SA

23/04/2024 19:06

(Adds background, quote in paragraphs 2-5)
       BRASILIA, April 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's government on
Tuesday decided to establish import quotas for 11 steel products
and impose a 25% tax on them when those volumes are exceeded, a
state foreign trade entity said in a statement.
    The government, which said the measure will be in place for
12 months, did not provide details about the quotas or products
involved, but noted it was also considering implementing quotas
for four other steel products.
    Brazil's steelmaking sector had been long asking the
government to impose higher taxation on steel imports, claiming
that cheaper steel from Russia and China had been "flooding" the
local market and making Brazilian firms idle plants.
        "The government will monitor market conditions during
these 12 months and hopes the measure will contribute to
reducing idle capacity in the local steel industry," the
government's Gecex/Camex body said.
  
        Gerdau  GGBR4.SA , Usiminas  USIM5.SA , CSN  CSNA3.SA 
and the local units of ArcelorMittal  MT.LU  and Ternium  TX.N 
are some of Brazil's largest steelmakers.
  

 (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia and Andre Romani
in Sao Paulo; editing by Gabriel Araujo and Marguerita Choy)
 ((Andre.Romani@thomsonreuters.com; 11 991314109;11 56447500;))