EU producers insist on retaliation threat, China maintains safeguards
US is considering the proposal concerning the amendment in the calculation of anti-dumping duties which will inevitably widen the gap between domestic and import prices, causing the negative effects of S201 measures to continue on foreign steel producers even if they are repealed. Consequently, steel producers in EU are reportedly requesting the European Commission to put pressure on the US, by maintaining its retaliation threat worth $2.2 billion on imports from the US, in case the proposal is still on the agenda despite cancellation of S201 measures.
In the meantime, according to a statement made by the
China Iron and Steel Association (CISA),
China is planning to keep its safeguard measures in force until May 23, 2005 as scheduled in any case, on grounds of no direct linkage with US' safeguard measures and legality in respect of WTO
trading rules. It is also stated that no expansion is considered for the steel products covered under Chinese measures.