Trade Cases

China Questions Legitimacy of EU Duties on Hot Rolled Steel
Written by Sandy Williams
June 11, 2017
China strongly condemned new antidumping and countervailing duties imposed Friday by the European Union on imports of hot-rolled flat steel from China. The EC applied definitive AD/CVD duties of up to 35.9 percent.
Commerce ministry official Wang Hejun said in a statement on Friday, “The European Commission ignores the fact that China’s steel exports to Europe clearly declined in 2016, using China’s steel overcapacity as an excuse to claim that China’s hot-rolled flat steel products threaten to damage industry in the EU when that is mere speculation with little bearing on reality.
“China strongly questions the legitimacy and legality of the European Commission’s ruling,” added Wang.
He argued that state-owned Chinese banks are independent market entities and that the EC continues to mistake bank loans as preferential lending. “It even disregarded basic financial facts by mistaking some bank loans directly as bestowal, inflating the subsidy range and seriously infringing the rights of Chinese companies,” he said.
Wang contended that not only does China not subsidize steel exports, it has taken steps to reduce them. “It is biased and unfair for Europe to blame China for its own industrial issues,” he said. “Unjustified accusations and reckless trade rescue measures will not help to solve the problem.”
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said the Commission is trying to “level the playing field” and protect European steelmakers from the flood of exports from China. “We are continuing to act, when necessary, against unfair trading conditions in the steel sector, and against foreign dumping,” Malmstroem said in a statement.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Trade Cases

Price on trade: What a difference a year makes!
As everyone surely knows by now, the SMU Steel Summit starts on Monday in Atlanta, Ga. So, this is a great opportunity to reflect on how much has changed since the 2024 Summit. Certainly, no one could have imagined the wholesale and transformative changes to U.S. and global trade policy.

Canadian steelmakers call for protection after US adds derivatives to S232
The Canadian Steel Producers Association expressed dismay upon the news that the Trump administration had added over 400 products to the list of derivative products covered by the 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.

China opens WTO dispute with Canada over steel, aluminum
China has requested dispute consultations with Canada at the WTO about Canadian measures on Chinese steel and aluminum imports.

Inclusion requests result in 400+ additions to S232’s derivatives list
The Commerce Department has added over 400 HTS codes to the list of steel and aluminum derivative products covered under the Section 232 tariffs.

Leibowitz on Trade: The New World Orders
The question of the new world order was on many minds last week when I spoke on another SMU Community Chat. The short answer is that nobody knows in detail what the effects of all the economic and geopolitical developments will be.