Brazil and China should cooperate to address the steel sector’s overcapacity globally, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said this week, following a probe by Brazil into China’s exports of HRC to the South American nation.
Brazil said earlier this week it found evidence of dumping at the Chinese exports of HRC to Brazil, following a request from local producers ArcelorMittal, CSN and Gerdau, but recommended investigations to continue in order to better define the duties.
According to a media report citing the Chinese ministry, protectionism will do “no good” in overcoming difficulties in the global economy and the steel sector.
"Trade remedies should be used in a cautious and restrained manner,” said Wang Hejun, the head of China’s MOC.
The Chinese minister said the two BRIC countries are closely related in both the steel and the iron ore sectors. The Brazilian state of Maranhao announced recently China’s CBSteel would build a mill in the city of Bacabeira.
Alacero, Latin America’s steel association, labeled the move as “inappropriate” during its annual conference, held this year in Rio, Brazil, from October 25-26.
Both Alacero and IABr, Brazil’s steel association, see probes and resulting duties over the Chinese steel as a positive way to protect the region’s and Brazil’s domestic steel industry under a scenario of “fair competition.”