A further step was taken in trade tensions between Brussels, Beijing and Moscow. EU reinforces tariffs on steel from China and Russia. economic decision, meaning heavy geopolitically.
The European Commission makes final anti-dumping measures were imposed provisionally since February … Customs duties on Chinese and Russian steel are in place for five years
and will be paid retroactively to February. The amount of taxes is rather a result: between 20 and 22% for Chinese companies; between 19 and 36% for Russian.
Why this hardening from Brussels?
Faced with record levels of unpopularity in the opinion, the EU takes every opportunity to show the teeth. The steel sector offers him a great opportunity because the sector is highly competitive. We talk
precisely rolled steel, used mainly in the automotive industry, household appliances and construction sectors very … sensitive in terms of jobs
and then we had witnessed earlier this year in an event quite unusual in Brussels. patterns metallurgy, together with trade unions, to appeal to distress to the Commission.
Russia and China, fierce competitors
Let us consider the case of China. The European Union is the second largest steel producer in the world after the Middle Kingdom, with around 180 million tons a year. Now on 2015 alone, Chinese exports surged by over 50%.
Overproduction would reach 340 million tonnes. Consequence of the transformation and the slowdown of the Chinese economy: local factories need less steel, and this generates surplus which must be disposed
This is to be compared with other figures.: in recent years, some 40,000 jobs were lost in the European metallurgy. Worth recalling the sad episodes like that of Arcelor-Mittal in Florange, in Moselle … Vallourec, already hit by falling oil prices, also faces competition from seamless pipes made in China and very poor quality in relation to our knowledge.
geopolitical Dimension
the European producers of steel, which accuses China of selling at a loss, see a very evil eye granting China market economy status.
is China a market economy? No, from the moment it does not respect the rules of international competition … not to mention human rights.
Last May, MEPs refused to China this status of market economy but for the moment the decision is non-statutory, non-binding. The struggle must continue. Behind the anti-dumping duties, political pressure? This is another message from the European Commission.
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