The confrontation has continued between steel producers and re-rollers in Egypt regarding the issue of safeguard duty on import billet. The Supreme Administrative Court has again postponed its decision on whether to eliminate the duty or to leave it in force, SteelOrbis has learned. The decision has been postponed for two weeks until September 7. “I believe there is a strong chance to finally have a decision this time with no further postponements,” one source said. Some market players believe that, if the decision is in favor of the duty, the mechanism or the rate can still be changed by a technical committee in order to support the re-rollers as well.
Currently, the import duty is in place with the possibility to clear cargoes via bank guarantee. The market is waiting for the government to announce the new rate in early September.
