The GCC countries are proposing a 31% safeguard tariff on steel imports to protect the industry from cheap products, Invest-Gate reports.

The tariffs on flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel would last for three years, with the rate falling to 28% in the second year and 25% in the third, according to a filing published by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

A number of “unforeseen events” affected the Gulf steel industry including increased production, especially from China, and economic recession in China that led countries to switch exports to other markets such as the GCC.