Regarding the Orientation Debate, EUROFER director general Axel Eggert stated that Chinese overcapacity should not be confused with the granting of MES to the country. According to Mr. Eggert, the concern is rather that prematurely according the status would give Chinese producers an even greater unfair competitive advantage, and therefore MES must not be granted straightforwardly so long as China does not visibly meet each of the EU’s five market economy criteria.

The EU’s five economic criteria are as follows:

• the elimination of barter trade in the economy,
• government non-intervention over allocation of resources and decisions of enterprises,
• transparent and non-discriminatory company law (adequate corporate governance),
• functioning property law & bankruptcy regime,
• genuine & state-independent financial sector.

According to EUROFER, the provisional measures, as low as nine percent, cannot remedy the massive injury caused by Chinese HFP rebar import surges, which have captured 46 percent of the EU market from zero in less than two years.

The commission found that Chinese HFP rebar has been dumped on the European market by up to 66 percent. Yet, the duties imposed are only a fraction of the dumping margin. Unlike its major trade partners, the EU reduces the duties if the calculated level of the injury caused by the dumping is lower than the level of the dumping (known as the ‘lesser-duty rule’). EUROFER director general Axel Eggert commented that the aim of the application of the lesser-duty rule – to limit duties to a level strictly necessary to address the injury suffered by the European industry from dumping – has clearly missed its objective. Duties as low as nine percent are a drop in the Yellow Sea in terms of safeguarding EU industry from the flood of unfair imports from China, added Mr. Eggert.