The Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA) has announced on its online portal Chilan Magazine that the government of Iran has reduced import tariffs on certain flat steel products, including hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC) and coated sheets.
Accordingly, the import tariffs for hot rolled coils with thickness up to 4.75 mm and the API-grade sheets which are used in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries have been reduced to five percent from 10 percent. Meanwhile, import tariffs for cold rolled coils with thicknesses ranging between 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm have been reduced to 10 percent from 30 percent. In addition, tariffs on imports of coated sheets have been reduced to 20 percent from 26 percent, while tariffs on tin plate imports have been cut to 15 percent from 26 percent.
The ISPA stated that, in recent months, it has opposed to the decision of the government to reduce tariffs on these products. In March this year, Mahmoud Eslamian, head of the association, told government officials that steel prices in Iran are lower than global prices, and so the reduction of import tariffs will not be for the benefit of the country.