Europe’s steel industry is pushing for tough action against Chinese imports and a relaxation of environmental rules in advance of a meeting in Brussels on the future of the embattled sector.
Ministers from EU states will meet on Monday afternoon to discuss the dire situation facing steelmakers — underlined by a spate of plant closures in the UK — as well as ways to improve competitiveness.
Industry representatives have called for “immediate” measures against what they perceive as unfairly traded steel products, particularly from China, which they say are driving down prices. This has piled pressure on companies in Europe, where demand for steel is still 25 per cent below levels prior to the 2007-8 financial crisis.
Axel Eggert, director-general of Eurofer, the European steel association, said: “If this situation continues we will see more closures. We have modest steel demand growth in the EU, but it is being taken almost entirely by imports.
“We need a fair, competitive level playing field with our global competitors. [The EU] should consider using all the trade tools it has available.”
While the bloc has enacted a number of trade defences against certain steel imports, it has been criticised for acting less quickly and robustly than countries such as the US.
Other demands include for the EU to oppose China gaining recognition as a market economy at the World Trade Organisation, scheduled for the end of 2016. Critics say that such recognition would make it harder to levy effective fines against products deemed to be subsidised or dumped at artificially low prices.
While a 25 per cent collapse in steel prices over the past year has squeezed producers around the world, European companies say they have also been hit by high electricity prices and environmental policies that competitors in other regions do not face.
At a working dinner on Monday evening, to be attended by chief executives, ministers are likely to be pressed to relax the Emissions Trading Scheme for the most efficient plants. Under current proposals, the scheme would impose more stringent costs on polluting industries after 2020, which energy-intensive sectors — ranging from steel and glass to ceramics and aluminium — say could put heavy manufacturers in Europe at a competitive disadvantage.
Other options on the table include forging closer dialogue with other steel-producing countries, and the possibility of EU investment funds to help modernise the steel industry.
Any outcome carries political importance for Sajid Javid, the UK business secretary, who called for the meeting after his government was accused of inaction following the loss of more than 4,000 jobs in Britain’s steel industry since the summer — equivalent to 15 per cent of the total workforce.
Mr Javid has been urging Brussels to sign off an energy compensation package that will provide some relief for UK steel companies. Approval is expected later this month.
Gareth Stace, director of the lobby group UK Steel, said: “The UK must seize the moment and encourage a rapid response in Brussels if we’re to prevent large-scale problems for steelmakers spreading in Britain and across the continent.”
The EU steel industry has turnover of about €170bn. Eurofer says its 330,000-strong workforce has shrunk by one-fifth since 2009.
SOurce:http://www.ft.com/