Wireforce have applied for a duty increase on “Coated welded wire mesh, classifiable under tariff subheading 7314.39, from 5% to 15%”
The reasons given for the proposed increase are:
- To reduce the local industries’ dependency on imports and create potential export opportunities.
- To enhance the industry’s global competitiveness by increasing economies of scale.
- An increase in low-priced imports, specifically those acquired from China, continue to flood the market, thus affecting the domestic industry.
- There appears to be an anomaly in the tariff structure as the main input material used to manufacture coated welded wire mesh currently attracts a higher ordinary customs duty than the finished product, which falls well below the WTO’s bound rate.