Germany Slams U.S. Steel Imports Probe--Update
April 21 2017 - 7:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Andrea Thomas
BERLIN--Germany criticized the U.S. decision to launch a
national security probe into steel imports and urged Washington to
respect international World Trade Organization rules.
Economics Minister Brigitte Zypries said proposed anti-dumping
duties against German steel companies were unjustified because the
U.S. calculation of dumping margins violated WTO rules, adding that
the move "gives reason for concern."
Dumping involves foreign manufacturers selling steel below
production costs and home-market value.
Ms. Zypries said she would address the issue in a phone call
with her U.S. counterpart Wilbur Ross next week and during a trip
to the U.S. at the end of May.
"We...are working directly with the American side to ensure that
WTO regulations are complied with," Ms. Zypries said. "The German
economics ministry will ensure that German companies won't be
disadvantaged in international trade."
The comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump's
administration on Thursday opened a wide-ranging probe into whether
to curb steel imports in the name of national security, ramping up
its campaign to give a more nationalist slant to U.S. trade
policy.
In Germany, the companies affected include Salzgitter AG and AG
der Dillinger Hüttenwerke.
It remains unclear just how far Mr. Trump will go in trying to
block steel imports, as opposed to using the threat to win
concessions from trading partners. The trade law he invoked
requires a study that must be submitted to a U.S. Department of
Commerce agency that independently assesses the national security
claim. That agency regularly rejects such claims, as it did when
members of Congress asked for national security protection for
steel in 2001.
Over recent weeks, Germany has strongly criticized Department of
Commerce plans announced on March 30 to propose anti-dumping duties
against German steel companies, accusing the U.S. of intentionally
violating WTO rules with the aim of damaging international
rivals.
Berlin urged the European Commission, which is in charge of
European Union trade policies, to encourage the WTO to take legal
action against the U.S. for allegedly breaching its rules.
A spokesman for trade issues at the EU's executive, the European
Commission, said Brussels has taken note of the investigation.
"It's too early to speculate on the potential impact," said
spokesman Daniel Rosario. "We are following it, we expressed our
concerns concerning the methodology used. We will assess the
situation and decide the appropriate course of action."
Brussels has previously raised its disagreement with the U.S.
methodology in calculating steel dumping, questioning its
compatibility with WTO rules. As for Berlin's request that the EU
challenge the U.S. moves at WTO, Mr. Rosario said the American
procedures are still under way and that Brussels is monitoring
them.
Germany has urged Brussels to take action against the U.S.
move.
"If the U.S. got its way with unfair competition then other
industrial sectors would face a similar risk," Germany Foreign
Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned last month.
Germany's Salzgitter has criticized what the steelmaker
described as stiff anti-dumping duties on some of its products.
"We...find the decision of the DOC and the level of anti-dumping
duties on our products incomprehensible," Salzgitter said on April
10.
The company said it had provided U.S. authorities with large
amounts of data to and hadn't itself found examples of anything
that constituted dumping.
The Department of Commerce had decided in March to impose an
anti-dumping duty of 22.9% on Salzgitter's future plate deliveries
to the U.S., the company said.
Friedrich Geiger in Berlin contributed to this article.
Write to Andrea Thomas at andrea.thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 21, 2017 07:15 ET (11:15 GMT)
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