Chinese steelmakersmust defend their legal rights

CHINA RESOLUTELY OPPOSES an investigation by the US International Trade Commission into complaints of alleged trade secret thefts by 40 Chinese steel companies, and should encourage its firms to legally defend themselves, said China's Commerce Ministry on Friday. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Monday:

United States Steel Corp, which launched a complaint under Section 337 of the main US tariff law, is seeking to halt nearly all imports from China's largest steel producers and trading houses. This is not the first time that the West has given Chinese steel companies a difficult time in recent months. Earlier this year the European Union imposed a series of tariffs on steel products manufactured in China.

Why Chinese steelmakers often fall prey to trade protectionism and exclusion has a lot to do with their enormous output which accounts for approximately half of the global steel output. With the domestic market saturated, they have doubled their exports as the renminbi has devalued and Western economies have increased their demand for steel products as they slowly but steadily recover from the 2008 global financial crisis.