CHINA SAYS THAT "LACK OF COMPETITIVENESS" IN THE U.S. STEEL INDUSTRY IS CAUSE BY "OVERPROTECTION"

China has pushed back after the US boosted anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on some of its steel products, saying mills in the world's biggest economy lack competitiveness because they are over-protected.

Protectionism in the US steel sector is deeply worrying as these measures will only exacerbate friction without helping to solve the problem of shrinking global demand, China's commerce ministry said in a statement on Thursday. "China believes that the lack of competitiveness in the US steel industry is the result of over-protection," it said.