In a statement released today, the European Steel Association (Eurofer) reports "a new 'anti-dumping' investigation into imports of tinned steel products from China" launched by the European Commission, calling it "an important step towards restoring a level playing field for EU producers".

Quoted in the note, Eurofer Director General Axel Eggert says that "Chinese mills have flooded the EU market with dumped tinplate for at least the past four years". Tinplate is a steel product coated with tin.

Axel Eggert explains that this situation "puts enormous pressure on EU producers, who have been forced to reduce their prices irrespective of cost developments".

"As steel is at the heart of many value chains, the impact of dumped steel products from third countries is not only a problem for our sector, but systemic for the wider EU economy and jobs", the official warns.

According to Eurofer, imports from China of tinplate at lower prices affect the profit margins of European producers, which results in a reduction in production volumes, capacity utilisation and market share, harming EU steel producers.

"The EU industry lost a quarter of its sales volume between 2021 and 2023, while the market share of EU consumption taken by Chinese imports more than doubled in the same period", the association says in the note.

Two weeks ago, on the occasion of the Chinese President's visit to Europe, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that the EU "cannot" continue to accept large Chinese subsidies, which cause unfair competition for European companies, emphasising that trade imbalances "must be resolved".

Today's announcement comes at a time when the EU is conducting several investigations into alleged illegal Chinese subsidies to companies operating in the Community bloc.

At issue is a recent investigation into suspected unfair trade in biofuel from China in the single market, with Brussels imposing retaliatory measures, such as customs tariffs, if dumping (selling below cost) is found to have occurred.

Alleged illegal subsidies to Chinese wind turbine manufacturers in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria are also being investigated.

The investigation into Chinese state subsidies to electric car manufacturers, which have rapidly entered the EU market and are sold at a much lower price than their EU competitors, is more advanced, having been launched last October.

In 2022, European trade with China was marked by a trade deficit of around 396 billion euros, a maximum of at least 10 years, given the EU's imports of 626 billion euros and exports to the Chinese bloc of 230 billion.

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