Massively subsidised Chinese steel products target the EU market

On Friday, 6th January, EUROFER filed an anti subsidy complaint providing overwhelming evidence that the surges in EU steel imports of Chinese organic coated sheet are the result of massive subsidisation.

The anti subsidy complaint
The anti subsidy complaint complements the anti dumping investigation on the same product initiated by the Commission end-December 2011 following EUROFER’s complaint.

EUROFER said “The anti subsidy complaint exposes the extent to which China has a wide range of specific government support programs covering all aspects of the steel and OCS industry including capacity investment, production, sales and exports of the product concerned.”

Mr Gordon Moffat EUROFER’s director general said ”Clearly the miracle of the Chinese steel industry which now counts for almost 50% of global steel production is not the result of free market forces.

Unfair competition
The Chinese government at central, provincial and local level owns, directs and subsidises virtually every aspect of its steel industry and has financed huge excess capacities. By promoting a sector intrinsically lacking a genuine cost advantage, China continues to be the major cause of unfair competition in the global steel market injuring in particular the European steel industry on the domestic and third markets.”

Organic coated steel
The product covered by the complaint is organic coated steel, consisting of pre painted sheet and plastic coated sheet, which are composite materials made up of a metallic substrate and an organic coating which adhere together firmly and complement each other in their properties.

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