The levy will apparently be $20 a ton.
Minister of Industry and Trade Ran Cohen will anounce a temporary import duty on steel imports at the beginning of next week. "The levy will apparently be $20 a ton. This was learned today by "Globes".
Professional factors in the Ministry of Industry and Trade agreed that steel imports were damaging the sector in Israel. The United Steel Mills management had demanded a levy of $35, but the ministry decided on a lower levy, which will raise the price of imported steel to that of local manufactures.
Cohen decided on the levy after meeting with workers from United Steel Mills and Yehuda Steel, who threatened protest actions if a levy were not enacted. According to the workers, the world steel crisis and the lowering of prices of iron for construction have led to uncontrolled steel imports, at the lowest prices in the last 30 years. Imports have cost the plants over NIS 200 million ($47 million) in losses and caused 220 workers to be laid off. The plants are currently claiming that they will be forced to close.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on November 18, 1999