The tariffs range from between 19.7% to 22.1% for companies from China to between 18.7% to 36.1% for those from Russia, and are particularly targeted at producers of cold rolled steel, which is used in the manufacturing of everything from white goods to cars.

The duties will come into effect from Friday and will stay in place for five years.

The decision by the European Union comes after a complaint made by the steel industry in Europe prompted an investigation into whether companies based within the EU were being unfairly disadvantaged by those from outside.

There were allegations that foreign manufacturers had been 'dumping' steel in Europe - that is, selling it for less than it costs to produce, meaning that EU companies were being unfairly priced out of the market.

In response the EU brought in temporary tariffs in February which levied an extra 26.2% on steel imports, in the hopes of protecting the struggling European steel industry.

The new tariffs announced today will replace the temporary measures, and will also be retrospectively applied to imports which were registered in the two months prior to the temporary tariffs coming into effect.

Gareth Stace, director of UK Steel, said: "Slapping tariffs on under-priced steel from China and Russia is hugely welcomed by steel producers in the UK.

"What is encouraging about this decision is that the dumping duties have been backdated, which sends the strongest signal to these countries that dumping into our market must stop.

"Regardless of any firepower shown by the EU, the UK will at some point be leaving and will need to have its own tariffs in place."

The UK steel industry has been in disarray this year amid the sale of Tata Steel plants in sites such as Port Talbot and Scunthorpe, as the industry struggles to compete with the cheap imports.

The US has also taken steps to combat dumping, introducing tariffs of 522% on cold rolled steel coming from China in May of this year.

 

Source : sky.com

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