The investigation covers steel tubes and pipes with an external diameter exceeding 406.4 millimetres, commonly known as Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) pipes and Spiral Welded Pipes or Submerged Arc Welded (SAW) pipes. The products are classified under tariff subheading 7305.19.
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South Africa’s trade authorities have moved to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of certain steel pipes from Mozambique after finding evidence that the products were being dumped into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) market, causing material injury to local manufacturers.
In a preliminary determination, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) concluded that imports of large-diameter welded steel tubes and pipes from Mozambique were being sold in the SACU market at dumped prices, “causing material injury and a threat of material injury to the SACU industry.”
The Commission has recommended that the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (Sars) impose provisional anti-dumping duties of 28.86% on imports of the affected products from Mozambican producer ETG Steel Solutions Limitada, as well as all other producers and exporters from Mozambique, for a period of six months.
The investigation covers steel tubes and pipes with an external diameter exceeding 406.4 millimetres, commonly known as Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) pipes and Spiral Welded Pipes or Submerged Arc Welded (SAW) pipes. The products are classified under tariff subheading 7305.19.
The application was lodged by Hall Longmore, which ITAC identified as the major producer of the products in the SACU region, accounting for more than 50% of production volumes. The Commission found that the application met the requirements to be regarded as being submitted on behalf of the SACU industry.
According to the Commission, imports from Mozambique have increased dramatically in recent years. Import volumes rose from 1.48 million kilograms in 2023 to 3.35 million kilograms in 2024 and then surged to more than 12.2 million kilograms in 2025. By 2025, Mozambican imports accounted for 98% of all imports of the products into the SACU market.
ITAC found that the increase in imports coincided with a loss of market share by the domestic producer. The Commission noted that dumped imports from Mozambique expanded significantly while Hall Longmore’s market share declined over the investigation period. It also found that imports from Mozambique increased by 729% between 2024 and 2025.
The investigation further revealed evidence of price undercutting and price suppression. ITAC found that the landed price of the imported products was lower than domestic selling prices throughout the period under review and that price undercutting worsened between 2024 and 2025.
The Commission also concluded that the domestic industry was unable to recover rising production costs through higher selling prices. Gross profit declined while production costs increased, indicating growing pressure on local manufacturers.
As part of the investigation, ITAC examined objections from ETG Steel Solutions and Capital Star Steel SA, which challenged aspects of the dumping calculations and the evidence used during the initiation phase. The exporters argued that certain import statistics and price calculations were inaccurate and questioned the confidentiality of some information submitted by the applicant.
However, the Commission said that after verification it relied on information obtained from exporters, customs Bills of Entry and Sars records as the most reliable information available.
ITAC ultimately calculated a dumping margin of 28.86% for ETG Steel Solutions and applied the same margin to all other Mozambican exporters.
The Commission also rejected arguments that anti-dumping measures would undermine regional integration objectives within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
While acknowledging that SADC promotes duty-free trade among member states, ITAC noted that the SADC Trade Protocol expressly allows anti-dumping measures where there is evidence of dumping and injury in line with World Trade Organization rules.
Based on its findings, the Commission made a preliminary determination that dumping of the products originating in or imported from Mozambique is taking place and that provisional measures are justified while the investigation continues.
BUSINESS REPORT