Request for steel shoulder couplers tariff increase submitted to the International Trade Administration Commission

Rand York Castings (Pty) Ltd (the applicant) made an application to the ITAC in respect of the increase in the rate of customs duty on steel shoulder couplers, classifiable under tariff subheadings 7307.11.90, 7307.19.80 and 7307.19.90 by way of creating additional eight-digit subheadings from free or 10% ad valorem to the World Trade Organization (WTO) bound rate of 15% ad valorem.

The logic behind the application

The applicant submitted that the downstream steel industry has been under considerable pressure for a protracted period of time, predominantly as a result of the influx of low-priced imports from China and other Asian countries. In order to give due regard to this matter, the applicant alleged that it is imperative to hike up the customs duty on the relevant tariff subheadings to the WTO bound rate of 15% and that such an adjustment would play a key role in improving the domestic industry’s price aggressiveness against the unyielding pressure from lower-priced imports.

The applicant stated that this course of action would concurrently help safeguard the current employment levels in the industry, assist in creating an environment advantageous to job growth, and bolster investment in the reindustrialisation of plant and equipment. The applicant further stated that the cruciality of this intervention is underlined by the loss already experienced in the grooved coupling sector within the South African Customs Union region (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini), where import competition has given rise to the complete disintegration of domestic manufacturing. The domestic industry was said to now have to contend with a similar threat in the shouldered coupling sector, as import volumes remain at insupportable proportions.

What is on the line for the industry?

The applicant argued that without swift and expeditious action to curb these imports, the domestic manufacturing industry may risk facing the same doom. Emphasis was given to the fact that the rate of duty mentioned in the application was as requested by the applicant and that the ITAC reserves its right, contingent on its findings, to recommend a lower or higher rate of duty.

The deadline for submissions to be made to the ITAC is 21 February 2025.