SteelOrbis Shanghai
Timothy P. Stratford, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for
China Affairs, and Franklin Lavin, Undersecretary for International Trade, visited
China on October 19 and 20. During their visit, talks were held on bilateral and multilateral trade between US and
China. Problems of the Chinese and American steel industries were also discussed.
During the talks, the US required the Chinese government to stop giving subsidies to the steel industry and to reduce steel
production. They also raised the possibility of appealing to the WTO on the subsidy issue. The American government thinks that some of the subsidies are clearly against the pledges made by
China to the WTO. However, the Chinese government does not consider these subsidies to be prohibited, and has always refused to cancel them.
From January to August, exports of Chinese steel products to the US saw a rapid growth, reaching 3.33 million metric tons, up 116 percent year on year, leading to fierce responses from the US mills.
Some insiders disclosed that, in order to eliminate trade friction, the Chinese government is thinking about further reductions in the export tax rebates for the steel industry. The government may even consider removing the rebates completely and start imposing export taxes on some steel products.