Nine steel associations question China’s market economy status

2015-11-20

 The American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Canadian Steel Producers Association, CANACERO (the Mexican steel association), Alacero (the Latin American steel association), EUROFER (the European steel association,)  Instituto AcoBrasil (the Brazil  Steel Institute), the Specialty Steel Industry of North American and the Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports have released a joint statement regarding concerns about China’s attempt to gain market economy status in December 2016.

The steel associations disagree with China’s claim that it should be automatically accorded treatment as a market economy, following the 15th anniversary of its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2016.

“While one small part of Section 15 of China’s Protocol […] expires on December 11, 2016, the remainder of Section 15 will remain in effect. These remaining provisions allow WTO members to treat China as a non-market economy country unless the Government of China or Chinese producers can show that they operate under market economy conditions,” state the associations.

According to the statement, the global steel industry is currently suffering from a crisis of overcapacity and the Chinese steel industry is the predominant global contributor to this problem.

The steel industry believes “the recognition or treatment of China as a market economy at the end of 2016 would coincide with the peak of Chinese excess steelmaking capacity, and record level of exports to international markets, including the US, the EU, and Latin America.”

Source: EUROFER