South Africa ITAC Report 759 — Definitive 5-Year Anti-Dumping Duties on Structural Steel (U/I/H Sections) from China (74.98%) and Thailand (20.32%)

Mechanism

ITAC received an application from ArcelorMittal Rails and Structures (AMRAS) — ArcelorMittal South Africa's rail and structures division and the sole mainline rail producer within the Southern African Customs Union — alleging that U, I and H-profile steel sections (HS 7216.31, 7216.32, 7216.33, 7216.40) were being imported from China and Thailand at below-normal-value prices, causing material injury to the SACU industry.

The investigation (ITAC Report 759) found:

• Imports from China and Thailand surged approximately 19-fold in the 2023/24 financial year
• 28,800 tonnes entered the SACU market in 2023/24; China accounted for ~65% of that volume
• Export prices were below normal value (dumping established)
• Dumped imports caused material injury to AMRAS

SARS implemented definitive duties on 19 March 2026 under Schedule No. 2 of the Customs and Excise Act. The duties apply for five years and are layered on top of:

• 10% existing ordinary customs duty on structural steel
• 13% SACU steel safeguard duty (in force from a prior broad-based safeguard action)

Effective duty stack on Chinese structural steel: 74.98% AD + 10% ordinary + 13% safeguard ≈ 98% above the base tariff before the AD measure.

Provisional duties had also been imposed at an earlier stage of the investigation; the 19 March 2026 measures are the definitive five-year determination.

Why severity 3

• SACU-level impact. The measure applies across the entire Southern African Customs Union (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, Lesotho), not just South Africa — a meaningful trade-flow redirection.
• High absolute rate on China (74.98%). Combined with the existing ordinary and safeguard duties, Chinese structural steel faces an effective cumulative rate approaching 98% — a near-prohibitive level.
• Sector specificity. Structural steel (U/I/H sections) is a narrow product category — used primarily in construction, rail infrastructure, and industrial buildings. The measure is meaningful for SACU construction costs and AMRAS competitiveness, but limited to this sub-product (not flat-rolled, not rebar, not wire rod).
• Thailand inclusion. Thailand (20.32%) is a significant add — Thai exports may have served as a transshipment route for Chinese-origin material; the dual-origin measure closes that channel.
• New jurisdiction on the register. South Africa is an active anti-dumping jurisdiction (ITAC has a full trade-remedy system under the International Trade Administration Act 71 of 2002), but this is the first ITAC trade-remedy action on the register beyond the chrome ore export control. The precedent and enforcement signal matter beyond this single product.

Downstream implications

• SACU construction costs. Structural steel buyers in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho face a step-change in landed cost for Chinese and Thai U/I/H sections. In SACU markets where AMRAS supplies the domestic alternative, the AD duty shifts pricing power to AMRAS.
• AMRAS competitive position. ArcelorMittal's rail and structural division is the direct beneficiary. AMRAS has faced severe pressure from Chinese and Thai competition; the ~98% total duty burden substantially restores the domestic price floor.
• Steel downstream risk. Industry groups (NEASA) have flagged concern that reduced competition from China/Thailand could create supply shortages and price spikes for downstream fabricators, construction firms and infrastructure contractors — a recurring trade-off in AD-intensive steel markets.
• China re-routing risk. Exclusion of Thailand (20.32%) does not fully seal circumvention channels; if Thai mills source from China, SARS anti-circumvention mechanisms under the ITA Act may be triggered.
• Pattern signal. Combined with the flat-rolled steel definitive duties (also March 2026, ITAC Report 767, targeting CN/JP/TW) and the chrome ore export control package (2025), South Africa is pursuing a coherent steel-protection + resource-nationalism strategy simultaneously.

Open questions

• Government Gazette reference. The specific Government Gazette number and notice amending Schedule No. 2 of the Customs and Excise Act was not identified from available sources — locate via SARS gazette amendments to confirm formal legal citation.
• AMRAS viability. AMRAS has been the struggling anchor of AMSA's long-steel business; whether the AD measure is sufficient to restore commercial viability without broader restructuring is an open question.
• Five-year sunset review. ITAC will need to initiate a sunset review before the five-year expiry (~March 2031) to determine whether duties should continue; AMRAS must maintain production through that period.