On Monday, March 26, the European Commission (EC) opened a safeguard investigation on imports of a number of steel products into the European Union, in response to the recent US Section 232 tariff decision.
In answer to the EC move, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has stated that, while a response from the EU side to the US tariffs is understandable, adopting global safeguards is not the right option.
Wang Hejun, head of the MOC's Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau, said the safeguard would further aggravate the chaos and panic in international trade caused by the US measures and have a more serious and damaging impact on the normal international trade order. Accordingly, Mr Wang said he hopes the EU will adopt a cautious approach to safeguard measures.
Mr. Wang also said that the EU, as an important member of the WTO and an important force in the global trade system, should strengthen cooperation with all its members and jointly oppose trade protectionism. He stated that the EU should not take actions that impair the global trade order, adding that China is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with all parties, including the EU, to jointly deal with the chaos caused by the US measures in the global trade of steel and aluminum.
China will seriously assess the impact of the US and EU measures on China, and will take corresponding measures when necessary, to firmly safeguard the interests of Chinese companies, Wang added.