WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2021) The United States will deal directly with China on industrial policies and take steps to shield American workers from unfair competition, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Tuesday.
"We will directly engage with China on its industrial policies, but we will also take all steps necessary to protect ourselves against the waves of damage inflicted over the years through unfair competition," Tai said in a speech prepared for delivery at the American Iron and Steel Institute and Steel Manufacturers Association's general meeting.
Tai noted that China was the biggest driver of the global overcapacity in steel and has poured billions of Dollars into its steel industry, hurting the interests of workers in America and around the world.
The gap between global steelmaking capacity and global demand, as estimated by the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity, was at nearly 600 million tons last year and is expected to grow, with 114 million tons of new capacity being under construction or planned over the next several years, she continued.
"China alone produced over one billion metric tons of steel annually, accounting for nearly 60% of global steel production," she said. "We all know this is not sustainable. We need to be prepared to deploy all tools and explore the development of new ones, including through collaboration with other economies and countries."
She cited as example the effort by the US and Europe to address the overcapacity in global steel and aluminum via an agreement to allow the resumption of duty-free European steel and aluminum into the United States.
Under the pact, the US and the European Union will analyze the volume of steel and aluminum imports from the bloc each year and share information and best practices on trade remedies, while ensuring that products from non-market economies do not benefit from the arrangement.
