Corus, ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp Steel have strongly backed Eurofer's recent anti-dumping filings against imports of steel products from several countries, which mainly target China.
Speaking at the Steel Success Strategies Europe Conference organized in Paris by World Steel Dynamics and Metal Bulletin, Corus CEO Philippe Varin, ThyssenKrupp Steel (TKS) executive board member Erich Heine, and ArcelorMittal's executive vice president for flat products in Europe Christophe Cornier, all echoed their support for Eurofer's move to block certain steel imports into the EU market.
Commenting on the issue, Mr.Varin said, "The EU has turned out to be a net importer from being a net exporter during the past few years." He went on to mention that 30 percent of imports into the EU consisted of wire rods, quarto plates and hot dip galvanized steel. The bulk of these imports were from China, he added.
In his turn, Mr.Cornier from ArcelorMittal remarked that Asian penetration was of great concern to them, and that therefore they were looking for a correction of the current situation, particularly as regards coated products which are very important for ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon Europe.
Speaking for TKS, Mr.Heine assured the steel industry that TKS is always in favor of competition on an equal footing However, he said he did not think that equal footing currently existed, and so the situation had to be corrected. He said that, for instance, certain competitors lack environmental standards and, as TKS and other European companies have to bear environmental costs, fair competition is nonexistent. He said that TKS was also of the view that action needs to be taken.