On Monday, April 4, the European Commission (EC) said it has sharply reduced an antitrust fine levied against steel giant ArcelorMittal for participating in a long-running cartel operated by structural steel producers.
The commission, the EU's executive arm, previously fined ArcelorMittal €230 million ($327 million) but said on Monday the fine would be reduced to €45.7 million. The commission had the authority to fine Arcelor up to 10 percent of its annual revenue, and the previous fine took the steel giant's size into account.
However, the cartel was largely operated by several of ArcelorMittal's subsidiaries that existed before the company was created and were much smaller than the parent company that would one day become their owner. Had the subsidiaries not become part of ArcelorMittal, the fine would have been much smaller than the one originally sought by the EC, said commission spokeswoman Amelia Torres.
"The commission reduced the fine because the subsidiaries could not pay it, and ArcelorMittal was under no legal obligation to pay it for them," she said.
The Brussels commission said yesterday it has also cut a fine against Brescia-based Italian iron and steel producer Ori Martin and its subsidiary Siderurgica Latina Martin to about €15.9 million from €19.8 million.
The latest reductions mean the total fine for the group of 17 structural steel producers has been cut to €269 million from €458 million. The commission charged the group of producers last year with operating a cartel for 18 years, from 1984 to 2002, in 24 EU countries.