Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Mincit) has announced the imposition of an additional 8.5 percent tariff on imports of rebar for a period of two years, upon the recommendation of the country’s Higher Council for Foreign Trade. Colombia was already charging rebar imports with 10 percent duty.
Foreign trade deputy minister Laura Valdivieso stated that total imports of goods covered by the existing tariff increased by 65.6 percent in 2018. The additional 8.5 percent tariff will exclude the countries with which Colombia has a trade agreement or an agreement within the framework of the Vallejo plan.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, Columbia’s commerce, industry and tourism minister José Manuel Restrepo told Bogotá-based daily El Tiempo that the additional tariff aims to control two factors that are distorting the Colombian rebar market. The first is that, due to excessive devaluations in the currencies of some producing countries, the country sees an excess of imports of rebar; the second, to avoid trade diversion caused by the Section 232 duties in the US.
The subject products are currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under the codes 7213.10.00.00 and 7214.20.00.00.