UK steelmakers have cheered a European parliament resolution opposing plans that they believe would kill off the industry by permanently opening the floodgates to cheap Chinese steel.
MEPs passed a resolution saying China should not be granted market economy status by Brussels, which could make it harder for officials to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese steel. Brussels is due to make a ruling this year.
Analysis European parliament gives China a black eye over trade status.But Conservative MEPs came under fire for failing to back the motion, while European steelmakers called on the UK to get behind efforts to strengthen the trade defences available to EU economies.
While the resolution carries no legal weight, steel trade bodies welcomed a move that they said sent a message to politicians that the European steel industry needs protection from China.
Gareth Stace, the director of UK Steel, “Despite the rhetoric, China shows no sign of stemming the tidal wave of steel exports which it is dumping on the global market.
“If this status for China is granted, we will see the decimation of steel in Europewith the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“The UK government must listen to the message being sent by the European parliament and stand strong with other European countries to oppose China’s calls for market economy status.”
European steelmaking body Eurofer also welcomed the resolution. “China is not a market economy, and thus cannot be treated as such for the purpose of anti-dumping investigations,” said its director general, Axel Eggert.
Labour criticised Conservative MEPs after many of them failed to support the resolution.
The shadow business secretary, Angela Eagle, said: “UK steel, a vital foundation industry, is hanging by a thread. The main cause of the crisis is the illegal dumping of Chinese steel, but the government has repeatedly failed to act.
“Granting market economy status to China would not just be undeserved and absurd, it would frustrate action against dumping. It is a great shame that most Tory MEPs failed to support this crucial vote.
“Labour has long been calling for robust action to tackle dumping and save our steel. This motion is a welcome step forward and we hope the Tory government will see this as a wake-up call. They need to stop kowtowing to China and start standing up for our steel industry.”
Source: The guardian