Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2667 actions· ✨ 89 recent

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition requested ITAC, under section 16(1)(d)(i) of the International Trade Administration Act (Act No. 71 of 2002), to review the tariff structure — including relevant trade remedy measures — for the paper and paper products sector and to investigate introducing an import surveillance system covering goods classifiable under Customs and Excise Act Chapters 48.01, 48.02, 48.03, 48.04, 48.05, 48.11, 48.18 and 48.23. The review was prompted by industry concerns over rising import penetration, declining print-paper demand, and rising input costs (electricity, transport) squeezing local pulp and paper producers, who have invested over R33 billion in the sector over the past seven years. ITAC has invited stakeholder comment via a questionnaire, due within four weeks of the notice date; no tariff or surveillance measure has yet been adopted.

Commerce initiated periodic administrative reviews of antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders with July anniversary dates, following timely requests under 19 CFR 351.213(b). Among the named respondents are JFE Steel Corporation and Nippon Steel Corporation (Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Japan, A-588-873), POSCO and Hyundai Steel Company (Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from South Korea, A-580-878/C-580-879), China Steel Corporation (Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Taiwan, A-583-856), Interpipe entities (Oil Country Tubular Goods from Ukraine, A-823-815), and Goodluck India Limited and Tube Investments of India Ltd. (Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing from India, A-533-873). The notice also covers unrelated AD/CVD orders on goods including pasta, mattresses, citric acid, paper shopping bags, tires and PET film from other countries. Review periods are predominantly 1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026; Commerce intends to issue final results no later than 31 July 2027. This is a review of existing orders, not a new duty — current cash-deposit rates continue unchanged pending the review's outcome.

Canada's Department of Finance published an updated list of over 700 US-origin products subject to counter-tariffs effective 2026-09-08, covering CA$27.6 billion of US imports across steel, aluminium, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp/paper and electronics. Rates (15%, 25% or 50% depending on product) are matched dollar-for-dollar to the corresponding US Section 338/232 tariffs on the same goods, explicitly countering the United States' 22 August 2026 decision to impose a 50% tariff on CA$27.6 billion of Canadian goods. Steel and aluminium flat-rolled products carry the top 50% counter-rate.