South Africa has increased import duties on a broad range of steel and steel-related products under amendments published in Government Gazette No. 54678 dated May 15, 2026, as part of efforts to support the domestic steel industry amid rising imports and global overcapacity pressures.
The tariff adjustments mainly affect products under HS Chapters 72 and 73, including flat rolled steel, wire rod, bars and rods, seamless and welded pipes and tubes, stainless steel products, fittings, wire products, chains, fasteners, and fabricated steel products. The revised general duty rates range between 10pct and 30pct, depending on the product category.
Under HS Chapter 72, South Africa imposed a 10pct duty on several alloy and non-alloy steel products including wire rod, sections, grain-oriented electrical steel, alloy steel bars and rods, and semi-finished alloy steel products under subheadings including 7213, 7216, 7217, 7224, 7225, 7226, 7227, 7228, and 7229.
Meanwhile, products under HS Chapter 73 including seamless pipes and tubes (7304), welded tubes and hollow sections (7306), pipe fittings (7307), steel containers (7310-7311), wire ropes and stranded wire (7312), steel mesh and chains (7314-7315), and fastening products (7317-7318) were subjected to duties mainly ranging between 15pct and 30pct. Certain stainless steel fittings under HS codes 7307.22, 7307.23, 7307.29, and flanges under 7307.91 were assigned the highest 30pct tariff level.
South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) described the situation facing the domestic steel sector as an emergency, citing global steel overcapacity, weak domestic demand, rising low-cost imports mainly from China and India, customs fraud, under-invoicing, and tariff circumvention.
At the same time, South Africa introduced several rebate provisions under Schedule No. 4 for products not sufficiently available within the SACU market, allowing full-duty rebates through specific permits issued by ITAC.
The rebate measures cover semi-finished steel under HS 7207, coated and painted flat steel products under HS 7210, bars and rods under HS 7214, H-sections under HS 7216, alloy wire rod under HS 7227, rails under HS 7302, seamless pipes under HS 7304, welded pipes under HS 7306, and pipeline fittings under HS 7307 for infrastructure, mining, industrial, and manufacturing applications.