DISPUTE WATCH- Court strikes down effort to end steel tariffs: An administrative court has rejected a petition submitted by the Chamber of Metallurgical Industries to cut import tariffs imposed on steel rebar and iron billets for three years, the local press reported on Saturday. This is the second legal challenge mounted by small-scale rolling mills, which have threatened to shutter production, arguing that the Trade Ministry’s 25% duty on steel rebar and 16% tariff on iron billets hampers their competitiveness. The chamber is set to hold an emergency summit to discuss the latest decision.

Background: The Trade Ministry postponed in April cutting import tariffs imposed on steel rebar and iron billets for a six-month period. The ministry had imposed a 25% duty on steel rebar and a 16% duty on iron billets for three years, which were to be gradually reduced over the period, but the first round of the plan was called off to keep larger factories afloat amid the pandemic. The Supreme Administrative Court had previously rejected a bid to slash the duties in October 2019, overruling an administrative court that had accepted the chamber’s bid earlier that year.