Brazil's Economy Ministry has confirmed that the UK has decided to no longer apply protective tax measures on the import of steel plates and cold-rolled steel products.
The Brazilian authorities said the decision was announced on 22 July, just four days after the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) decided to repeal the antidumping tariffs that had been levied on cold-rolled steel products from Brazil for more than five years.
With the elimination of the safeguards, Brazilian steel becomes more commercially competitive. The UK and the US are two of the main markets for Brazilian steel products. Of the approximately $7.3 billion that Brazil exported in 2019, more than $3.4 billion went to the UK and the US.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the British authorities were convinced by the argument that the volume of Brazilian exports fell within the parameters of tax exemption authorized by agreements signed within the World Trade Organization (WTO).
About a year ago, all steel plate and cold-rolled steel products that Brazilian steel mills sold to the UK above the maximum volume periodically revised by the British authorities were subject to a 25% surcharge.
The United States, on the other hand, will no longer charge additional duties that could reach 46% (35% antidumping duty and 11% countervailing measure) on cold-rolled steel products bought from Brazil.
The ITC explained that the action was a part of the review process that according to international trade rules establish that the United States must revoke any protective or countervailing measures if it could determine after the mandatory 5-year review that upholding them would lead to the continuation or recurrence of the conditions that motivated the same measures.
