The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has once again urged EU policy makers to resist calls from China to prematurely grant the country market economy status (MES) ahead of the EU-China summit taking place from Wednesday, July 13, in Beijing.
EUROFER stated that the European steel industry is asking national policy makers to make it clear to the European Commission that they cannot grant MES so long as China does not meet the necessary criteria. China is not a market economy and the country does not meet its WTO commitments, EUROFER said.
“The EU must maintain effective trade defence instruments in order not to put at risk millions of jobs as well as tens of billions of euro in annual investment. They must stand their ground and not submit to pressure from the Chinese government to adopt this damaging and unnecessary MES policy, particularly as China is not meeting its own obligations,” said Axel Eggert, EUROFER director general.