Construction sector asks Guedes to reduce steel import tariff

The civil construction sector is trying to reduce steel import tariffs to minimize the rise in the national product price. According to the president of Secovi-SP, Basílio Jafet, in the last 12 months, the National Construction Cost Index (INCC) rose 15%. He said that steel is one of the components with the highest participation in the index.

“The readjustments are constant in the country, and we need to reduce the import tariff to have more equality in the Brazilian market,” said Jafet. Currently, the rate is 12%.

Some civil construction entities met with Finance Minister Paulo Guedes yesterday to talk about the situation in the sector, which, in addition to the increase in prices, still lacks regular steel supplies.

According to the president of the Civil Construction Cooperative of the State of Santa Catarina (Coopercon-SC), José Silvio Ghisi, the price of steel imported from Turkey is on average R$ 6.5 per kilo, including nationalization and logistics from port to construction. And steelmakers in the country charge R$ 7.5 for the same kilogram of the product, he says.

Because of this cost, the cooperative has been structuring Turkish steel purchases this year. Two shipments of steel products have already arrived in the country, 14 thousand tons in the first quarter and another 20 thousand tons expected to arrive in Brazil in July. “There is still room for two more loads by the end of the year, around 20 thousand tons of steel each. If we manage to reduce the rate, we can further reduce costs in the nationalization of steel.”

According to Aço Brasil, imports of long steel in May totaled 153,150 tons compared to the 44,480 tons purchased abroad in the same month in 2020. As a result, the percentage share of the imported product rose from 7 % to 14.6%.

Source: Valor Econômico

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