Steel industry urges tough action on China amid overcapacity and job losses

Steel industry urges tough action on China amid overcapacity and job losses

Steel workers and managers protested the import of Chinese 'dumping' products at a rally in Brussels. They urged the EU not to exacerbate the situation by granting China market economy status.

United in their frustration over Chinese products being sold below production cost on the European market, more than 5,000 workers and managers from the steel and other sectors from 17 European countries gathered in Brussels for a joint protest.

Ahead of the protests, Eurofer, Europe's main steel association, urged the EU Commission to do more to clamp down on cheap Chinese products flooding the European market, which has been grappling with low prices for raw materials and finished steel products.

Last week, the world's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, reported a staggering net loss of of just under $8 billion (7.16 billion euros) for 2015, more than four times the previous year's net loss of $1.86 billion. German heavyweight ThyssenKrupp also slipped into the red in its first quarter of the year.