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EU ought to do more to suppress steel imports from Asia, says Acerinox CEO

In charge of Spanish steelmaker Acerinox says the European Union ought to do more to curb steel imports from Asia, which are harming a few of the EU's. mills as need and rates deteriorate.

China raised steel production by 13% in 2023 while the rest. of the world decreased it due to weaker demand. Indonesia and. China have currently exceeded 70% of the world's steel production. share, Acerinox CEO Bernardo Velazquez informed .

With domestic demand not recovering as much as expected,. China's exports of steel items increased by 25% in March. year-on-year to 9.89 million metric lots, the highest since July. 2016.

The call for more action follows Acerinox cautioned on. Thursday that the European market had actually shown little sign of. recovering, even with its Cadiz mill in Spain being shut for. 3 months due to an ongoing strike.

The EU already has punitive tariffs in place on 18 grades of. Chinese steel and stainless steel products and set quotas on all. steel imports as part of procedures to safeguard its market. Above. those limitations, imports incur a 25% task.

Protect procedures are needed, however they are not. adequate. The EU must impose more tariffs, mimicing the. United States' model, so that the Asian markets have the very same. guidelines of the video game, Velazquez stated.

The European Commission stated earlier this year it was. examining whether the steps, which expire on June 30,. should be extended.

In the United States, particular steel items deal with a levy of. up to 7.5% under a Trump-era policy.

Last week, U.S. president Joe Biden proposed raising tariffs. on Chinese metal items to 25% as part of a bundle of. policies ahead of the election.

Acerinox said on Thursday it would close its factory in. Malaysia's Bahru, which is specialised in cold lamination, in. the 2nd quarter due to low prices among Asian competitors.

Swedish peer SSAB was less concerned about the. competitors from Chinese rivals.

We don't see much Chinese product into Europe yet in our. item groups. But what we see is that China is exporting to.

(source: Reuters)