China's failure to curb its steel output could prompt the European Union to consider new trade sanctions against Beijing, the European Commission said on Wednesday, joining U.S. calls for over-capacity to be dealt with swiftly.
By far the world's top steel producer, China's annual steel output is almost double the EU's total production. Western governments say Chinese steel exports have caused a global steel crisis, costing jobs and forcing plant closures.
In an EU document aimed at framing the bloc's China policy over the next five years, the Commission said Beijing's pledge to cut up to 150 million tonnes of crude steel production by 2020 was insufficient and the country had to do more.
"The EU is seriously concerned about industrial over-capacity in a number of industrial sectors in China, notably steel production," said the document, which was agreed by top EU officials including EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday.
"If the problem is not properly remedied, trade defence measures may proliferate, spreading beyond steel to other sectors such as aluminium, ceramics and wood-based products," it said, referring to punitive tariffs to limit Chinese imports.
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