On November 5th, a public hearing was held in Costa Rica discussing the proposal to raise the import duty of steel rebar from 1% to 15%. The largest steel producer in the world ArcelorMittal and the importers argued in that hearing for their interests.

Representative of ArcelorMittal said that the steel rebars from countries such as China and Turkey were sold to worldwide at prices well below cost because their governments gave subsidies to steel sector. On the other hand, the importers and constructors of the country argued that this tariff on steel rebar could raise the price of construction, a particular impact on social interest housing sector.

The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce of Costa Rica will give its recommendation before December 2nd, and the final resolution will be taken then.