BRUSSELS: An emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in the steel industry is to be held by European economy ministers at the request of the UK.
The industry is demanding tougher action against cheap imports of Chinese steel, which it blames for low global steel prices.
Workers from the UK, Belgium and France will also hold a demonstration in Brussels later.
The UK’s steel industry lost about 4,000 jobs in October.
“The US and other countries have already moved to prevent cheap Chinese imports distorting their markets and now the EU must do the same and, do so quickly,” said Gareth Stace, director of the industry body UK Steel.
“The UK must seize the moment and encourage a rapid response in Brussels if we’re to prevent large scale problems for steel makers spreading in Britain and across the continent.”
UK Steel says the latest data will show that artificially low-priced reinforcing steel from China will account for more than half the UK market this year.
‘Nothing off the table’
The industry has also been hit by high electricity prices, as well as the price of global steel falling by half over the past year.
Axel Eggert, director general of the European steel trade body Eurofur, called for a level playing field.
“We do not want to block imports, but we would like to see fair trade, and if fair trade is not provided by our trade partners, the EU needs to act and it needs to act immediately. We hope that this will be one of the outcomes today,” he said.
That call was echoed by the Unite union.
