BRASILIA, April 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's government on

Tuesday decided to establish import quotas for 11 steel products

and impose a 25% tax on them when those volumes are exceeded, a

state foreign trade entity said in a statement.

The government, which said the measure will be in place for

12 months, did not provide details about the quotas or products

involved, but noted it was also considering implementing quotas

for four other steel products.

Brazil's steelmaking sector had been long asking the

government to impose higher taxation on steel imports, claiming

that cheaper steel from Russia and China had been "flooding" the

local market and making Brazilian firms idle plants.

"The government will monitor market conditions during

these 12 months and hopes the measure will contribute to

reducing idle capacity in the local steel industry," the

government's Gecex/Camex body said.

Gerdau ( GGB ), Usiminas, CSN

and the local units of ArcelorMittal and Ternium ( TX )

are some of Brazil's largest steelmakers.