24 May 2024
Minister Ebrahim Patel
Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC)
and
Mr Ayabonga Cawe
Chief Commissioner (ITAC)
Dear Minister Patel
STEEL IMPORT DUTIES AND A SHRINKING STEEL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
Government’s continued interventions to protect an ailing AMSA, will not only fail to save AMSA in the long run, but will substantially contribute to the gradual erosion of the entire Steel Industry.
At the time of the first introduction of import duties in 2015, the then CEO of AMSA, Paul O’Flaherty, stated that if duties were not introduced, AMSA would still be around in future, but with a much smaller footprint. However, the implementation of the duties did not prevent the continued decline of AMSA. The closure of Saldanha Steel and the contemplation of the closure of Newcastle Steel Works are mere examples of its steady decline.
One of the undertakings made by AMSA in 2015, to substantially invest in their antiquated plant in exchange for the duties, for obvious reasons, did not materialise. From a shareholder’s point of view, it simply did not, and still does not, make sense to pour capital into a 60-year-old mill with a largely un-upgradable structure. AMSA’s technology is of such a nature that it makes sense for it to pursue a strategy of canvassing increased government protection in order to realise higher selling prices.
Is this a case of AMSA not being concerned about a contracted Steel Industry as long as they can sell at inflated prices, protected by a barrage of duties, even if on a smaller scale?
AMSA has, after all, over time become a high-cost producer. The cost of production with such an old mill will only increase and thereby aggravate the problem going forward.
As long as AMSA receives protection, the downstream Steel Industry will continue to shrink and AMSA, contrary to receiving substantial investments to improve their facilities, will be subject to being a low-priority investment destination for their parent company, ArcelorMittal International.
Government should reverse this protectionist strategy and, in order to increase competition, allow the steel downstream access to cost-effective raw material. The decrease in competition, as a result of the increase in duties, has significantly contributed to the contraction of the entire steel downstream. It is generally accepted that the Steel Industry shrunk by about a quarter since 2015 when the first duties were introduced. Government’s strategy is leading to a situation where the erosion of AMSA’s customer base will eventually lead to its own demise.
Scrapping import duties will pose challenges. A transition from being compelled to only buy uncompetitive raw material from AMSA, to sourcing price-competitive raw material globally, will be disruptive, but far less so than the gradual demise of an entire industry.
We therefore call on Minister Patel and the Chief Commissioner of ITAC to reconsider the introduction of the duties implemented in December ‘23 and February ‘24, and to reject AMSA’s application to re-introduce safeguard duties on hot-rolled products.
Kind regards
G.C. Papenfus
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
