US steel probe breaches fair trade principles

Source: Xinhua | 2017-04-28

CHINA’S steel industry group has voiced concern over the US probe on steel imports, saying the move sends a signal of protectionism and is against the principles of fair trade.

The announcement by China Iron and Steel Association came in response to US President Donald Trump’s call for the initiation of a trade probe on steel imports on national security grounds last week.

Trump has signed a memo directing his administration to expedite an investigation into whether steel imports are jeopardizing US national security.

“China’s steel exports to the US are quite limited, which absolutely won’t affect the security of the US steel industry,” CISA said in a statement, adding that US steel imports mainly came from other countries, not China.

In 2016, China exported 1.17 million tons of steel to the United States, accounting for only 1 percent of China’s total exports of the metal.

Data from the US showed it imported 789,000 tons of steel from China, or just 2.6 percent of the country’s imports of the metal.

The statement stressed that both China and the US were facing industrial overcapacity in the global market.