China and EU fail to reach agreement on steel overproduction

The EU-China Summit took place in Brussels on Friday, focusing on climate, trade, foreign policy and security issues. The parties once again discussed the problem of overcapacity in the production of steel in China, and also discussed the implementation of Article 15 of the agreement on China's accession to the WTO.

"We have come to a position on these issues, but have not yet reached full agreement," Juncker said at a press conference. "Since China's overproduction of steel continues to harm the European economy."

The EU proposal was connected with the expiration in mid-December 2016 of a part of the Protocol on China's accession to the WTO, which indicates the need for the country's recognition as a market economy. Thus, the EU and other WTO members may theoretically not be beneficial for them to use the anti-dumping duty calculation mechanism in the process against Beijing.

The matter looks difficult for Brussels, which, on the one hand, would like to fulfill legal obligations regarding China, and on the other hand, would like to be able to effectively respond to threats to European industry, which is associated with the influx of subsidized products into the EU, especially steel.