EU probes not curbing nation’s steel exports

27/05/2015 12:00 - 494 Views

The European Union (EU) imposed anti-dumping duties from May 13 on imports of a grade of electrical steel from China, Japan and Russia.

Duties of 28.7 percent will be placed on imports from Chinese companies, including Baoshan Iron & Steel Co and Wuhan Iron and Steel Corp.

And on May 15, the EU started anti-dumping investigations into cold-rolled flat stainless steel imported from China

There are reasons behind this. China's economy is facing a "new normal" of slower growth, so domestic steel consumption is declining.

China produced 1.14 billion tons of raw steel in 2014, but consumption of the material declined 3.4 percent year-on-year to 738 million tons last year, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association.

This has led to a rise in steel exports. In 2014, steel exports reached 93.78 million tons, up 50.5 percent year-on-year. So anti-dumping probes can't restrict the growth of China's steel exports.

Although the EU has been aggressive in imposing anti-dumping duties, it will not have a heavy impact on China's steel industry.

Exports of steel products jumped 33 percent year-on-year to 34.31 million tons in the first four months of 2015, according to customs data. In fact, Western countries are not the major steel export targets for China.

The strong growth this year was mainly supported by exports to countries such as India, Pakistan and Turkey.

Source: globaltimes.cn