Industry and Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid said there was no intention to impose anti-dumping fees on imported steel. In an exclusive interview to Al-Masry Al-Youm, he pointed out that the Ministry was heeding consumers' interests in the first place and was seeking to keep steel prices low after they had been high in the past. He added that he would not bow down to the pressures from steel manufacturers and would allow no more speculations on steel prices. He also added this was honest competition between imported and local steel. Rachid explained he would only pay attention to the official requests submitted to his ministry. He also denied that the manufacturers had officially asked for anti-dumping fees to be imposed on imported steel or for production to be halted because of Turkish steel being dumped in the Egyptian market. He stressed that poor people had the right to buy steel at the global price, pointing out that imposing anti-dumping fees required measures and evidence currently not available. After pointing out that people had suffered very much from high prices, he went on to say: "The Ministry will not hesitate to protect the factories which have been affected by the global crisis. At the same time, it will protect consumers, as they have the right to get commodities at low prices." For their part, steel manufacturers criticized the Ministry of Industry for delaying imposing anti-dumping fees on imported steel in order to protect the national economy, adding that the Ministry was ignoring their requests. Meanwhile, the Chamber of Mining Industries (Federation of Egyptian Industries) submitted yesterday an official memo to the industry and trade minister calling for anti-dumping fees to be imposed on imported steel. The Chamber let the ministry set the fees, while the steel manufacturers said the chamber was politicized and did not defend its members' interests appropriately. Meanwhile, more than 150,000 tons of Turkish steel have been released on the local market this week at LE 2,800 to LE 2,900. This steel had been stored in the ports of Damietta and Alexandria.
