ABIMAQ, the Brazilian association of machinery and equipment producers, accused Brazilian steel producers and the steel institute IABr of “blackmail” in its quest for import protection, after urging authorities to increase the import tax for steel products from today’s 12 percent to 25 percent.
According to ABIMAQ’s president José Velloso, the vast majority of its 8,600 associates, which are small to medium sized companies, are paying in average $1,210/mt for HRC, in his view the highest price in world terms, against $794/mt in average paid in other countries, including the US and China.
Marco Polo de Mello Lopes, the executive president of IABr, was quoted by the local press as saying that Velloso is “searching for its five minutes of fame,” and that its accusations have no foundations.
So far there is no date fixed for the decision about the increase of the import tax.