Colombia Hikes Tariffs on Cheap Steel Imports From China

(Bloomberg) -- Colombia became the latest Latin American country to raise tariffs on Chinese steel, as producers complain of the threat to local jobs from cheap imports.

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The Andean nation imposed an additional 30% tariff on wire rods coming from countries with which it doesn’t have a trade agreement, Trade Minister Luis Carlos Reyes said Monday in a post on X.

The Oct. 18 decree boosts the tariff to 35%, the maximum allowed under World Trade Organization rules, and will affect imports from countries including China and Russia.

“A technical investigation was carried out that showed that those imports were causing damage to the national industry,” Reyes said in the post. “We seek to ensure balanced and fair competition.”

Brazil, Mexico and Chile earlier this year hiked duties as a flood of imports from China threaten to put Latin American steel producers out of business. Shipments from China into Colombia were more than 40% cheaper than locally-produced steel, leading some mills to curtail output.

The move follows an agreement between President Gustavo Petro’s administration and local steel producers in which a pre-feasibility study will be carried out to analyze the demand, prices and costs for flat steel in Colombia and the region, Reyes said.

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