China risks escalating trade row with US and EU after it cuts export taxes on steel
Latest move flies in face of complaints by Washington and Brussels about dumping
China will scrap export duties on some steel products in the new year, the country’s finance ministry said in a statement on Friday, a move that is likely to worsen Beijing’s trade disputes with the United States and the European Union.
Both the Americans and Europeans have accused China of dumping excess steel products on their markets and the US recently slapped tariffs of up to 265 per cent on steel imports from Vietnam that were sourced from Chinese materials.
This week at the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation, the US, EU and Japan signed a joint statement to pressure China to address overcapacity and forced technology transfer.
According to the World Steel Association, China is the world’s largest steelmaker, producing 808.4 million tonnes last year, followed by Japan with 104.8 million tonnes.
China imposes export taxes on some steel products, generally ranging from 5 to 10 per cent, and
Chinese officials have often cited those duties to support the argument that the government is not deliberately encouraging steel exports.