Update | China ‘regrets’ EU anti-dumping duties on Chinese cold-rolled steel
EU should “avoid abusing trade remedies and sending a wrong signal” to the world, China’s Commerce Ministry said
China’s Commerce Ministry said on Thursday it “regrets” the European Commission’s decision to put anti-dumping duties on Chinese cold-rolled steel plates, the latest spat between the trade partners battling a global steel glut.
China’s steel industry, a major employer, has struggled to meet targets to reduce its overcapacity, and rising prices for steel have encouraged firms to ramp up production for export.
Rival producers have accused China of selling into export markets at below cost after a slowdown in demand at home, forcing job cuts and plant closures elsewhere amid a deepening global crisis in the industry.
The European Commission said on Thursday that it would levy retroactive anti-dumping duties on imports of certain cold rolled steel products from China and Russia after a year-long investigation triggered by a claim from European steel lobbying group Eurofer.
“In the wake of the global steel overcapacity crisis, the Commission is applying the trade defence instruments to re-establish a level-playing field between EU and foreign producers,” its said in an emailed statement.
The duties of between 19.7 per cent and 22.1 per cent on Chinese firms Angang Group and Shougang Group would weaken the European Union’s downstream manufacturing competitiveness, China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement on its website.