European steel industry
Stop the blame game
Today the European Commission presented its communication on the challenges faced by the European steel industry. Reinhard Bütikofer, industrial policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, has called for more common European resolve in this matter:
"We have no time for a European blame game between the national capitals and Brussels. Instead of writing letters to the European Commission, EU governments should take action and do their homework. For too long they have blocked a reform of EU anti-dumping instruments. The European Commission is calling yet again for the removal of the 'lesser duty rule', a key demand that the European Parliament has been making for years but this won’t move forward without an about-turn by the EU governments.
"Meanwhile, Chinese overproduction in steel is continuing to grow and hurting Europe’s steel industry. China also insists on being granted a market economy status by the end of 2016. The EU needs new trade defence instruments to ensure protection against Chinese dumping after 2016 but the European Commission is lacking resolve in this matter. The public consultation, which it only started after pressure from industry and the European Parliament, can’t be taken seriously. The Commission is unwilling to look for effective trade instruments. Business-as-usual won’t be good enough."
