European Union slaps anti-dumping duty on steel imports from China

In a bid to shore up the domestic steel industry, the European Union, on Friday, slapped anti-dumping duties on steel products from China and Taiwan.

The move comes in response to Chinese steel products allegedly flooding global markets in violation of international trade agreements.

"The European Commission's investigation confirmed that Chinese and Taiwanese stainless steel tube and pipe butt-welding fittings had been sold in Europe at dumped prices," the EU's executive arm said in a statement.

The development comes in the wake of the United States under its President, Donald Trump, talking about protectionist measures to protect American jobs. The Chinese President, Xi Jinping, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, had praised globalisation.

The European Union is China's second largest trading partner. It has a host of trade disputes with Beijing and the stand-off over steel is being resolved through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, a group of highly-developed economies based in Paris. 

(WION with inputs from AFP)