The United Arab Emirates has increased the import duty imposed on rebar to 10%, from the previous 5%, Dubai Customs announced on Wednesday January 16. The duties became effective the following day.
The HS codes of the products that now have 10% import duty are: 72131000, 72132000, 7213900, 72139900, 72141010, 72141020, 72141090, 72142010, 72142010, 72142020, 72142090, 72143010, 72143020, 72143090.
Market participants in the UAE had been expecting the duty to increase.
The new duty will prevent cheap imports from entering the country, one trader said. And in any case, the Gulf Co-operation Council countries (GCC), which includes the UAE, are already self-sufficient for rebar.
The UAE imported significant quantities of rebar until 2017, mainly from Turkey, but now the country’s local production is almost enough to satisfy demand, while Oman has become the main source of exported rebar.
Because Oman is also a member of the GCC, trade between it and the UAE - as well as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain - is duty-free.
Last week, Omani producers were offering rebar to the UAE at $500-510 per tonne cfr, on a theoretical weight basis.
Fastmarkets assessed the UAE import price for rebar at $500-505 per tonne cfr on January 15.
Source from Fastmarkets MB |
