Cape Town - Trade union Solidarity is calling for urgent preventative measures to stop Chinese dumping in the steel industry, which has already suffered about 11 000 job losses last year.
The South African steel industry was at risk of collapse, it warned in a public presentation to the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac).
Marius Croucamp, deputy general secretary of the metal and engineering industry at Solidarity, said the local steel industry is being subjected to unfair trade practices.
“Chinese steel is subsidised in China, with the result that steel is dumped on a large scale in South Africa, which places immense pressure on our steel producers because the playing field is not level," he explained.
"It is crucial that preventative measures should be set in place now to limit the dumping of Chinese steel in South Africa,” cautioned Croucamp.
Furthermore, he said that communities function around steel plants.
Croucamp said about 2 200 people lost their jobs when Evraz Highveld Steel had to close its doors due to these imports. He added that the closing of Highveld Steel actually affected a further 13 000 job opportunities in the Witbank area.
“The steel industry provides about 66% of all jobs in the Vaal Triangle area. If a steel plant such as ArcelorMittal, which is under immense pressure, has to close its doors as well, it would bring the local community and the economy to its knees,” Croucamp said.
China, the world’s biggest steel producer, has pledged to cut as much as 150 million metric tons of capacity by 2020, reported Bloomberg. However, the nation continues to export its steel surplus amid the slowest growth in decades.
Chinese steel mills keep increasing shipments because they’re struggling to stay profitable and maintain market share, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
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