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STEEL INDUSTRY: Conducting your business with the DUTIES-SWORD hanging over your head (yet another testimony)

Oct 15, 2020

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STEEL INDUSTRY
Conducting your business
WITH THE DUTIES-SWORD HANGING OVER YOUR HEAD

How does the import duties affect your business?
(click here to share your experience)
Below is another testimony from one of our members

BusinessDay TV recently broadcasted a debate (clichere to watch), involving, among others AMSA’s CEO, Mr. Cobus Verster and NEASA’s CE. The following is a comment from a downstream functionary following that debate:

More smoke and mirrors from the AMSA CEO. What a crock of excrement!

Someone remind him of Import Price Parity (IPP) which was Mittal’s pricing model previously. It was repeatedly challenged and eventually, AMSA sold an ignorant government the “International Basket of Prices” model – which is also a crock of excrement, and totally beyond the comprehension of a government that has no clue as to the workings of the steel industry in South Africa.

Duties were introduced in exactly the same way. The government was sold a magic show that was backed by bullying threats of withdrawal by AMSA. All the government saw was another revenue stream to plunder, and AMSA flew in the face of every Competition Commission regulation imaginable.

How on earth have they been allowed to get away with non-compliance with conditions around duty and protection?!. How can duties be imposed on goods not produced in this country, for goodness sake?!

The AMSA CEO sat there and did a Jacob Zuma! He never actually answered one question. Replies are not answers, Sir, and you know it! Set this up again with a couple of us with worn out filters.

A few of us that have been in the industry for 40 odd years, and remember everything that has happened to destroy a once-robust, well-disciplined, well-run industry.

My bet is that they will not dare to do so. So like I have advocated before…Switch off the lights when you leave, Lakshmi. You have destroyed an industry, almost single-handedly, and destroyed thousands of lives along the way.

Regards

 

 

 

We are all in this together.
Privileged and challenged to be South African.

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