The woes of the EU’s steel industry have largely been blamed on China’s dumping of excess supply at cheaper rates on the European market.

This is the major issue. China produces more steel than the rest of the world combined, heavily subsidized by the Chinese government through a wide variety of measures.

China’s accusation of a “protectionism step” by the EU is outright false and essentially hypocritical. As well as in all other industries, it is exactly China that produces overcapacity while at the same time shield its domestic market from foreign competition.