The UAE increased import duties on rebar and wire rod from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, effective January 1, 2019, a media report said.

The anti-dumping move aims to protect the domestic steel industry and falls in line with a GCC-wide initiative to raise the duties across the Gulf region, according to Ali Saeed Matar Al Neyadi, customs commissioner and chairman of the Federal Customs Authority (FCA), reported Emirates news agency Wam.

"The import duty hike comes in implementation of a decision taken by the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee to approve an increase in rebar and wire rod import duties from 5 per cent to 10 per cent starting January 1st, and therefore the decision is being applied across all UAE's ports" he said.

"The hike will remain in effect for one year, after which it will be evaluated by the Ministry of Economy which will raise its assessment to the Cabinet for review and final say," he explained.

"The Customs Sector in the country is playing a central role in underpinning the competitiveness of domestic products and protecting them against detrimental trade practices, primarily dumping, in order to ensure fair competition for all domestic and foreign products on the local market," he noted.

According to the FCA statistics, rebar and wire rod trade stood at Dh1.1 billion (444.4 thousand tonnes) during the first nine months of last year, with imports accounting for Dh656 million and exports Dh392 million while re-exports valued Dh26 million.

© Copyright 2014 www.tradearabia.com

Copyright 2019 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.