Beijing is back in the spotlight on European steel markets

At the Steel Markets Europe conference, held less than a week after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, this historic decision pale in comparison to concerns over China's continued influence in European steel markets.

“China is a bull in a china shop, when it moves, it can do a lot of harm,” said Laurent Plasman, head of operational marketing at ArcelorMittal, summing up the sentiments of the majority.

Despite the anti-dumping duties placed by the European Commission on some Chinese steel imports this year, many in the metals industry believe the organization has not been tough enough.

“EU producers are competing on an uneven playing field. I believe we can convince the EU to act, ”said Henrik Adam, commercial director of Tata Steel Europe, noting that steel trade flows have grown by 53 percent in just 10 years, mainly driven by Chinese exports.

Another hot topic at the Barcelona conference was concerns that China might be granted market economy status. This, in principle, will make exporting to Europe easier for China. Overproduction of steel, rising imports and subsidies must be addressed if China really wants to become a market economy.

Energy-intensive groups, including metallurgists, led by the Eurofer association, have advised the EU to oppose the granting of market economy status. They believe that a change in China's trade status could lead to the loss of 3 million jobs within the EU, although disputes over this issue continue in the EU. Pellegrini, the EC spokesman at the conference, assured that anti-dumping measures could work even if China was granted the status.

However, the United States is strongly opposed to any change in China's status, believing that it is unlikely to be granted status. At the same time, China acknowledged that solving the problem of overcapacity will be difficult and large-scale closings of so-called "zombie" factories could potentially lead to millions of lost jobs.