Government/Policy

August 23, 2024
Price on trade: China’s subsidies threaten 'harsh winter' for global steel industry
Written by Adam Teslik & Alan Price
The chair of China’s Baowu Steel Group recently predicted a “harsh winter” for the Chinese industry as it faces a structural economic slowdown and a property market crisis. As steel industries elsewhere know all too well, China’s “harsh winters” have an unfortunate tendency to blow back on them.
The winds have been picking up for more than a year already. According to the US Commerce Department, China’s 2023 steel exports increased by 39% compared to 2022 volumes. In 2024, exports are on pace to exceed 100 million tons. This is causing flashbacks to the mid-2010s, when Chinese steel exports hit a record of 110 million metric tons and threw the global industry into crisis.
Adam Teslik
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