{"id":97563,"date":"2026-04-20T14:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:01:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:01:42","slug":"only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry","title":{"rendered":"Only one thing can save critical South African industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The key to rescuing South Africa\u2019s ailing steel industry, in which a unit of ArcelorMittal is feuding with smaller competitors, is by growing demand rather than fixating on export controls, the country\u2019s chief trade regulator said.<\/p>\n

ArcelorMittal South Africa last year shut a steel mill, citing competition from so-called mini-mills that use scrap metal as their feedstock rather than iron ore.<\/p>\n

The company, which still runs Africa\u2019s biggest steelmaking plant south of Johannesburg, has demanded the government end a 20% tax on the export of scrap, which it says reduces the cost of the material for its rivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a bubbling belligerence that says I can only survive by you kind of killing that instrument,\u201d Ayabonga Cawe, chief commissioner of South Africa\u2019s International Trade Administration Commission, said in an interview on Thursday at Bloomberg\u2019s office in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

Instead, the issue that needs to be addressed is \u201chow do you fix on the demand side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s annual steel production collapsed to about 4.5 million tons last year from 9.7 million tons in 2006, with domestic producers struggling to compete with cheaper Chinese imports, while contending with surging power and logistics costs, and a stagnant economy.<\/p>\n

We need \u201ca rapid and aggressive infrastructure program,\u201d Cawe said. The ITAC is responsible for customs tariff investigations and recommending trade remedies including import and export controls.<\/p>\n

While Arcelor uses coking coal to fire blast furnaces that convert iron ore into steel, rivals including Scaw Metals and Cape Gate use electric arc furnaces to melt scrap.<\/p>\n

In addition to the export tax, the electric-furnace operators benefit from controls on the price of scrap, which are set at a discount to the international price. The discounts were implemented in 2013 and the tax in 2020.<\/p>\n

As steel scrap is a recycled material, it\u2019s more environmentally friendly than iron ore and is therefore a strategic material, Cawe said.<\/p>\n

Prior to the imposition of export controls in 2013, South Africa shipped more than a million tons of scrap to India annually, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can all agree that in principle that scrap in strategic material that has to be regulated, then we can have a debate about how you recalibrate the different rents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must find a balance, but that balance I am afraid is framed in very antagonistic terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The key to rescuing South Africa\u2019s ailing steel industry, in which a unit of ArcelorMittal is feuding with smaller competitors, is by growing demand rather than fixating on export controls, the country\u2019s chief trade regulator said. ArcelorMittal South Africa last year shut a steel mill, citing competition from so-called mini-mills that use […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":97562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-97563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nOnly one thing can save critical South African industry - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The key to rescuing South Africa\u2019s ailing steel industry, in which a unit of ArcelorMittal is feuding with smaller compe ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Only one thing can save critical South African industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The key to rescuing South Africa\u2019s ailing steel industry, in which a unit of ArcelorMittal is feuding with smaller compe ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T14:49:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T15:01:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1776684452.43396.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Only one thing can save critical South African industry\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-20T14:49:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-20T15:01:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry\"},\"wordCount\":409,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1776684452.43396.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/only-one-thing-can-save-critical-south-african-industry\",\"name\":\"Only one thing can save critical South African industry - 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