A group of governments including the UK and Germany have urged the EU to step up its fight against cheap steel from countries such as Russia and China, warning that the European industry is at “impending risk of collapse”.
Ministers from seven steel-producing member states — Germany, Italy, the UK, France, Poland, Belgium and Luxembourg — have put their names to a letter urging Brussels to take greater action to tackle unfair trade practices and “ensure a global level playing field” for the steel sector.
The letter ratchets up pressure on the EU at a time of deepening crisis in the European steel industry, which has lost more than a fifth of its workforce since 2008. A plunge in international steel prices has hit steelmakers around the world and many blame a surge of underpriced exports from China.
Brussels has some tariffs in place but industry figures accuse the European Commission of responding inadequately compared with countries such as the US.
Tata Steel said it would cut more than 1,000 jobs in the UK last month, adding to thousands of redundancies and plant closures in the country over the past year.
“The European Union cannot remain passive when rising job losses and steelwork closures show that there is a significant and impending risk of collapse in the European steel sector,” stated the letter, dated Friday and addressed to three members of the European Commission and a minister from the Netherlands and seen by the Financial Times.’
Source: FT