INTL FERRO-ALLOYS CONF: China could react to SA chrome ore export tax with import tax on alloy, Kovarsky says

The implementation of a proposed export tax on South African chrome ore could prompt China to impose a tax on imports of the country's ferro-chrome into the East Asian nation, according to David Kovarsky, senior vice president at chrome ore producer Sibanye Stillwater.

Speaking at Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys Conference, which is being held online, Kovarsky was critical of the proposed South African tax, saying that the nature of the likely reaction from China was "highly uncertain."
"It is hard to predict exactly how China will react but some of the [possible] reactions could be increased subsidies to support the [domestic] ferro-chrome industry, or a trade policy directed at the South African ferro-chrome industry, such as import taxes on South African ferro-chrome coming into China," Kovarsky said.

"Just because there is a chrome ore tax doesn't mean that China is going to accept it easily,"...

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