Government/Policy
China and Germany to Work on Steel Overcapacity Within G20
Written by Sandy Williams
March 18, 2018
China and German have agreed to work together to find solutions for steel overcapacity within the framework of the G20 group of nations.
In a phone call on Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jingping discussed the importance of multilateral cooperation in global trade and the need for the two countries to become “advocates for new-type international relations.” The agreement was in response to the shift by the current U.S. administration toward protectionism.
“China-Germany relations will steadily proceed for as long as they adhere to equality and mutual respect, understand and care for each other’s core interests and major concerns, and properly control and handle their differences,” Xinhua said, attributing the comments to Xi.
G20 is scheduled to meet beginning on Monday in Buenos Aires, Argentina. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is scheduled to discuss steel overcapacity with German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the summit meeting.
The Section 232 tariffs to be imposed by the United States are expected to be a central issue at the talks. Argentina’s Treasury Minister Nicholas Dujovne stressed that G20 will continue to support “the crucial role of the rules-based international trading system.”
“We aim to reach an agreement in terms of maintaining the wording of the Hamburg communique (about) sustaining the benefits of free trade,” said Dujovne.
Trump has been critical of both China and Germany for their trade surpluses with the United States. Merkel said on Friday that the proposed U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum violate the principles of the World Trade Organization.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Government/Policy
Price on Trade: The foolishness of free trade with controlled economies
It was only a matter of time before a shutdown happened. And, no, we aren’t talking about the federal government’s lapse in appropriations. On Oct. 9, Beijing announced a series of restrictions that will effectively shut down exports of rare earth elements, magnets, and certain downstream products vital to advanced manufacturing.
Trump pulls plug on trade talks with Canada after anti-tariff Reagan ad
US President Donald Trump took to social media late Thursday night to announce he was canceling trade talks with Canada.
Leibowitz: Renewed trade war with China over rare earths
On Oct.10, President Trump announced major increases in tariffs on Chinese goods. The trigger was a new regime of export controls on rare earth metals and products using those elements, including magnets, capital equipment, and catalysts for catalytic converters in cars and trucks.
Industry piles on new Section 232 steel derivative inclusion requests
The Department of Commerce received 97 submissions from producers, manufacturers, and groups seeking Section 232 tariff coverage for steel and aluminum derivative products.
Price on Trade: New EU steel tariffs don’t mean the US should weaken its stance
Any steel imports into the EU that exceed the new, lower quota level would be subject to a 50% tariff, which represents a major increase from the EU’s current 25% out-of-quota tariff. This move would largely align the EU’s steel tariff rate with Canada and the United States.