EU Starts New Investigation Into Steel Imports From China

EU Starts New Investigation Into Steel Imports From China
In this file photo a worker stokes a giant burning cauldron at a steel mill in Hefei, in eastern China's Anhui province, on June 25, 2011. Overcapacity in steel and other industries is one of the major challenges facing China's economy in 2014. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Reuters
5/24/2018
Updated:
5/24/2018

BRUSSELS—The European Commission has opened an investigation into hot-rolled steel sheet piles imported from China to determine whether they are being dumped in Europe, according to a notice in the EU Official Journal on Thursday.

The investigation into a form of steel used in construction was launched following a complaint by EU steelmaker group Eurofer and could bring fresh measures against Chinese steel.

The European Union already has 17 sets of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures in place on various grades of steel.

The Journal said the complaint was lodged on behalf of three manufacturers making all of the product in the EU, later listing them as ArcelorMittal subsidiaries in Luxembourg and Poland and Vitkovice Steel of the Czech Republic.

The complaint says exports from China have increased significantly at prices that are artificially low.

Corrugated sheet piling is a steel segment used in construction, which represents 35 percent of total steel consumption. It is principally used for building foundations or retaining walls.