Trade Cases

Germany Seeks EU Help in Opposing US Trade Case

March 24, 2017

Germany is seeking help from the European Union in its dispute with the United States regarding the alleged dumping of steel into the U.S. market.

In a letter to EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel asked the Commission to urge the United States to follow World Trade Organization rules when deciding trade cases.

Said Gabriel, “There is reason to fear that the American rivals of these two companies are hoping that the new US Administration could be prepared to allow US companies to engage in unfair dumping even if this violates international law. We Europeans must not accept this.”

Gabriell said Dilllinger Hütte and Salzgitter AG, companies named in the dumping suit, “produce high quality steel and have nothing to fear from fair competition. Politics has the job, if necessary, of confidently presenting the case for this fairness and to retain jobs and of fighting side by side with the steelworkers.”

In November, Commerce issued a preliminary finding that nine exporters, including Germany and four other EU states, had dumped imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length steel plate. Dumping margins of 6.56 percent were assigned to Germany.

In a meeting in Toronto, Malmstrom said she is worried about the protectionist policies of the White House.

“Some tend to see trade as a game — I win, you lose,” Malmstrom said. “We don’t see it like that. We see a trade agreement as, I win, you win.”

Malmstrom told CBC News, “We’re not closing barriers, we’re not building walls.” She added, “We stand up to fair trade, to good trade, transparent trade, sustainable trade, a trade where we both win.”