“If the U. S. does take protectionist measures, then other countries are likely to take justifiable retaliatory actions against U. S. companies that have an advantage … in fields such as finance and high-tech, leading to a tit-for…
Days after Donald Trump signed an executive order to probe steel imports, mostly from China, Beijing responded warning such a move could trigger a trade dispute between the United States and its major trading partners, who are likely to take retaliatory steps, the official China Daily said in an editorial on Monday.
“By proposing an unjustified investigation into steel imports in the guise of safeguarding national security, the U. S. seems to be resorting to unilateralism to solve bilateral and multilateral problems, ” the China Daily said. The probe could result in efforts by the United States to curb imports that will affect the interests of a number of its major trade partners, including China, the editorial warned.
“If the U. S. does take protectionist measures, then other countries are likely to take justifiable retaliatory actions against U. S. companies that have an advantage … in fields such as finance and high-tech, leading to a tit-for-tat trade war that benefits no one, ” it said.
The article called on the United States, the world’s top economy, to use the settlement mechanism under the World Trade Organization to resolve the dispute over steel. Reducing imports will not alter the weak competitiveness of U. S. steelmakers, help restore U. S. manufacturing or bring back jobs, as President Trump hopes, it said.
As Reuters puts it, “the article was the strongest official response yet to U. S. President Donald Trump on Thursday launching an investigation of China and other steel producers for dumping cheap steel products into the United States.” It was a marked shift from official comments on Friday. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a briefing the country needed to ascertain the direction of any U. S. investigation before it could make a judgment.
In addition to China, in Japan, the world’s second-biggest steel producer after China, the head of its steelmakers’ group expressed concern over Trump’s protectionist policy.
“We are greatly concerned over Trump’s protectionism, although we hear he has softened his tone on some issues with a grasp of reality, ” Japan Iron and Steel Federation chairman Kosei Shindo told a news conference on Monday.
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Separately, in a parallel move yet one which appears to justify Trump’s threat to curb Chinese steel imports, 29 Chinese steel firms had their licenses revoked as Beijing kept up its campaign to tackle overcapacity in the sector. Nonetheless, analysts quoted by Reuters said the revocations were unlikely to be a direct response to Trump’s plan, but rather a part of China’s reform measures aimed at reducing surplus steel capacity that many estimate at around 300 million tonnes, about three times Japan’s annual output.
