Taiwan will soon impose controls on imported steel to prevent any possible dumping practices, after the US and European Commission imposed steel import tariffs, the Board of Foreign Trade said yesterday in a statement.
To stop overseas steelmakers from flooding the nation with low-priced products, Taiwan will introduce permit controls on the import of 417 steel items starting Monday, the statement said.
The measure is aimed at "Preventing Russia, Ukraine and other countries from selling steel products to Taiwan at prices that may disrupt the market and hurt the local industry," it said.
In line with the new rule, the government will require steel importers to apply to the Board under the Ministry of Economic Affairs for a separate permit for each of the 471 steel products ranging from cold and hot-rolled steel and to steel plates. Currently, local steel importers are required only to file an application with the Directorate General of Customs for imports. But "The permits will be valid for only three months and are not extendable," the statement added. In other words, importers are required to re-apply the permits every three months.
The US last month said it will levy tariffs on most steel imports to give its domestic industry time to rebuild. The European Commission subsequently said it would impose tariffs on some steel products, and China said it's investigating whether five countries, including Taiwan, sold steel below cost.
Taiwan has tariffs on steel of as high as 15 percent that are due to be ended by 2004 following its entry to the WTO in January. Taiwan imported US$3.8 billion of steel products last year, or 3.5 percent of total imports.
RSS