Political decisions in the trade and climate policy for the future of the steel markets in Germany and Europe will be crucial in the current year, according to the German steel federation Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl (WV Stahl).
Speaking at a conference on the steel markets in Germany and Europe, WV Stahl president Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff stated that, to meet the challenges in the current global environment, an effective European foreign trade policy is needed. According to Mr. Kerkhoff, the Chinese steel industry doubled its steel exports to 111 million mt over the last three years, and, in contrast, steel exports declined by 20 million mt in the rest of the world. Much of the Chinese material is being offered at dumping prices in the markets, and the open EU steel market is particularly threatened. As a result, Europe’s steel imports increased in 2015, while its exports fell significantly.
Mr. Kerkhoff indicated the importance of urgent trade defense instruments to avert harm to the domestic industry in Germany, adding that the recent provisional duties against unfair cold rolled sheet imports from China and Russia are not sufficient, since dumping margins of nearly 60 percent for Chinese imports were detected, whereas duties were set at 14-16 percent. The WV Stahl official said that the lesser-duty rule does not compensate for dumping, and so the existing margins must be fully applied.