Brussels, 08/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - In a common position published on Monday 8 December, nine associations from the steel sector in the EU, Turkey and the American continent urge governments not to grant China market economy status until it has made the necessary reforms to remove the state from its economy and to eliminate its overcapacity for steel production.
“Given the continuing significant role of the Chinese state in many key aspects of the Chinese economy, especially in its state-owned and controlled steel sector, there is no question that China remains very much a non-market economy today. For the steel industry, recognition or treatment of China as a market economy at the end of 2016 would coincide with the peak of Chinese excess steelmaking capacity and record level of exports”, the joint statement says.
The nine associations therefore urge governments to “undertake comprehensive assessments of the continuing role of the state in the Chinese economy and the steel industry, and the impact on industries around the world, if China were to be treated as a market economy before it made the necessary reforms to ensure that market forces were allowed to operate fully in the Chinese economy”.
The associations that have signed the joint statement are AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute), SMA (Steel Manufacturers Association) from the USA, CSPA (Canadian Steel Producers Association), ACO (the Brazil Steel Institute), CANACERO (Mexican Chamber of Iron and Steel), Eurofer (European Steel Association), TCUD (Turkish Steel Producers Association), CPTI (Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports) from North America, and ALACERO (Latin American Association of Steel). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)