Egypt’s Trade Remedies Sector at the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade has formally notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of the findings underpinning its safeguard action on hot-rolled flat steel, disclosing detailed import statistics, injury indicators and the structure of the proposed measure.
According to the notification, Egypt’s imports of hot-rolled flat steel more than doubled over the investigation period, rising from around 716,000 tons in 2021 to approximately 1.55 mln tons in 2024. The authorities said the surge increased import penetration and intensified pressure on the domestic industry, citing declines in production, sales, capacity utilization and profitability. While domestic consumption increased, the domestic industry’s market share fell by 21pct in 2024 compared with 2023, reinforcing the injury finding.
The safeguard proposal covers a broad range of hot-rolled flat steel products under HS codes 7208, 7211, 7225 and 7226, and sets out a tiered ad-valorem duty schedule to be applied over three years from 14 September 2025 to 13 September 2028. The proposed duty starts at 13.6pct of CIF value, subject to a minimum duty of EGP 3,673 per ton, before declining to 13.0pct (EGP 3,511 per ton) and 12.5pct (EGP 3,376 per ton) in subsequent periods as part of a gradual liberalization plan. The measure excludes products exceeding 20 mm in thickness and 1,600 mm in width.
