EU steel industry faces collapse

Unlike the US, the EU, despite numerous warnings from metallurgists, has yet to do anything to save the European steel industry from dumping from China. And this threatens to destroy one of the most important industries, with unpredictable consequences for the labor market in Europe.

In fact, China, intentionally or accidentally, is waging a trade and currency war against the rest of the world. There is a manipulation of prices and exchange rate indices. These methods are the subject of discussion by the International Monetary Fund. In fact, China is channeling its surplus production to the world market through targeted dumping policies and destroying competitors in world markets. According to European experts, such a strategy is designed for the long term and today its focus is European metallurgy.

One of the first industries in Western Europe to experience direct decline was metallurgy. The reason is simple - Chinese steel exports. In 2015, China produced more than half of the world's steel, and exports from China exceed the total production of the second largest steel producer, Japan. In addition to support through lending from state banks and tax subsidies, Chinese manufacturers have recently benefited from currency depreciation. And the US imposed significant penalties in December 2015 against Chinese steel imports.

However, the EU is behaving in the same way as it has in the past 15 years, with little opposition to the systematic dumping of Chinese manufacturers, which have already destroyed other large and important industries in Western Europe. For example, the textile and clothing industry, the production of footwear and leather goods in Italy and Portugal, renewable energy producers in Germany and Spain. Instead, the EU maintains a good export climate.

The steel industry is an important component of industrial supply chains for the automotive, engineering, construction and real estate sectors. Their disappearance will bring damage to subsequent production steps and the entire industrial cluster in Europe.