A Chinese industry group on Wednesday denied the claims of a
U.S. study released last month, which stated that massive
government energy subsidies had fueled the country's steel
exports.
The accusation that China had supported its steel industry with
energy subsidies of 27.1 billion U.S. dollars from 2000-07 was
groundless and deviated from the truth, said a statement from the
China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals
Importers and Exporters (CCCMC).
"The surge in China's steel output and exports in recent years
has been totally driven by the need for steel products in China and
importing countries for their economic growth," it said.
The study, commissioned by the Alliance for American
Manufacturing, provided new ammunition for U.S. steel companies
that are pressing for tough measures by Congress against China's
steel products.
China, the world's biggest maker and consumer of steel, produced
489.2 million tons of crude steel last year, up 15.7 percent
year-on-year, which was 2.67 percentage points lower than the rise
in 2006.
Net exports of crude steel soared 58 percent to 54.9 million
tons last year. But exports to the U.S. declined 23.3 percent as
prices rose 32.3 percent.
Responding to foreign complaints about cheap Chinese steel, the
CCCMC statement attributed the competitive edge of the country's
steel products to its low labor and management costs, rather than
government subsidies.
With raw material prices and labor costs increasing, export
prices for China's steel products had jumped 263 percent over the
past seven years and were still rising, it said.
But China's steel exports were mostly low-end, generic products,
which served as a supplement to the international market, it
said.
Since China accounted for one third of world crude steel
production capacity, if there was a global demand for the low-end
product that no other country could meet, market forces would boost
China's exports.
The statement also said that China had developed its steel
industry for the purpose of satisfying domestic demand, not for
exports. The country had plans to phase out 100 million tons of
obsolete iron capacity and 55 million tons of steel capacity by
2010.
Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations launched by the
United States against Chinese steel products would not help solve
trade problems, nor would it favor the U.S. steel industry and
consumers, it said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2008)
