Imported steel: the 35% tariff on wire rod from China and Russia expires

The Colombia steel tariff of 35% that had applied since 2024 to wire rod from countries without a free trade agreement, such as China and Russia, ended in October. Without it, the product goes back to paying the 5% tariff it had before. Acerías PazdelRío, the steelmaker that requested the protection in the first place, has asked the government to keep it.

What wire rod is

It is a thin steel rod, under 14 millimeters in diameter, used as raw material to make wire, nails, tacks and mesh. The tariff was set for two years, counted from October 2024, and applied only to countries with which Colombia has no trade agreement.

What changes for importers

Importers of wire rod from China, Russia or other countries without a trade agreement no longer pay the 30% surcharge. Their product arrives cheaper and competes on better terms with domestic steel. Suppliers from countries that do have an agreement with Colombia are affected too: before, their Chinese competitor paid the surcharge, and now they face lower prices again, so they will have to adjust their own or lose sales. Exporters of products made with wire rod, such as wire, nails or mesh, can also come out ahead: if their raw material gets cheaper, their costs fall and their prices improve against competitors from other countries.

Who gains and who loses

Importers and distributors of wire rod gain, and so do manufacturers of wire, nails or mesh that buy it as an input and could see their costs drop.

Steelmakers that produce wire rod lose. PazdelRío says the product is 40% of what it makes and that it faces steel from countries where the state subsidizes production. The company accounts for about a third of Boyacá’s industrial output and employs 7,000 people. Its president, Pedro Blanco, said the company is not asking for a higher tariff, only to keep the existing one through another route. According to the company, while it was in force, the tariff had a very small effect on construction costs.

What is still to be decided

The other Colombia steel tariff: the March 2026 decree

This is a separate Colombia steel tariff, covering other products, and it remains in force. Decree 0264 of 2026, signed on March 16, set a 35% tariff on 14 products of the steel and metalworking sector, including bars, profiles, tubes, wire, wire products and barbed wire. It applies to imports from countries without a trade agreement, such as China, Russia, Turkey and India. Before, those products generally paid between 0% and 10%.

The government justified it by the rise in imports: in some products they grew between 5% and more than 290%, and in several cases more than 80% or 90% of what came in originated in countries without an agreement. Steelmakers said that steel arrived up to 42% below market prices.

The measure lasts one year from its entry into force, which comes 15 days after its publication on March 17, that is, until around April 2027. After that, a government committee will review its impact. One of the 14 tariff lines is a type of wire rod different from the one whose tariff just ended, included so that importers do not swap a taxed product for a similar one.

What it means for importers and exporters

For now nothing changes, because the tariff remains in force. Importers of these bars, profiles, tubes or wire from countries without an agreement keep paying 35% until around April 2027. Those who make or export products using these inputs keep facing a higher cost, which cuts their margin against competitors from other countries. Suppliers from countries with a trade agreement keep their advantage, because their Chinese, Russian, Turkish or Indian competitors still pay the surcharge.

Who gains and who loses from this tariff

Domestic steelmakers and suppliers from countries with an agreement gain. Importers from countries without an agreement, and those who buy steel to build or manufacture, lose. The steel chamber of ANDI, Colombia’s business association, said the measure was necessary to counter unfair trade practices. Camacol, the construction chamber, rejected it: it estimates that iron and steel account for about 16.3% of direct construction costs and that new housing could rise around 2.2%.

What is still to be decided on this tariff