EU unveils plans to fight for survival of metallurgy

Plans for the European Commission, the EU's executive office, include speeding up tariffs on imports that are “discarded” at below market prices and changing the rules that limit the level of tariffs that the EU can apply to imports to become global competitors, chief among them China.

The measures also include a mechanism to monitor imports of steel products that threaten to harm EU producers and could push the sector to the brink of collapse.

Ministers from the governments of several EU countries, including France, Germany and the UK, called in February to step up measures to protect the region's metallurgical industry from fraudulent trade from competitors such as China and Russia.

The problems associated with the steel industry could be further complicated in the coming months if the EU officially grants China the status of a market economy country. The move will fundamentally change the EU's relationship with its second largest trading partner.

If the EU recognizes China as a market economy, it will make it more difficult for Europe to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, even if European industries complain that Beijing is using government subsidies to stimulate exports and harming foreign competitors.