The European Union has moved to address what it says are unfairly low prices for imported Chinese made steel.<br /><br /> It has set provisional import duties on two types of steel – between 13.2 and 22.6 percent for hot-rolled flat iron and steel products and between 65.1 and 73.7 percent for heavy-plate steel.<br /><br /> It will now investigate and if the complaints are upheld, the duties would typically be set for five years.<br /><br /> EU steel producers have been pushing for this saying there is a flood of products being sold in Europe for less than they cost to make, due to Chinese overcapacity – something which is known as dumping. <br /><br /> A Chinese #steel merger: Will China cut overcapacity in steel? https://t.co/fdT5QGJJ9d via TheEconomist pic.twitter.com/osc154IeUo— European Steel (EUROFER_eu) September 28, 2016<br /><br /> The move is likely to draw an angry response from China, which is the source of 50 percent of the world’s steel and the largest global steel consumer.<br /><br /> Shares of ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp rose on Friday. <br /><br /> Some 5,000 jobs have been axed in the British steel industry in the last year, as it struggles to compete with cheap Chinese imports and high energy costs.<br /><br /> The European Commission is also investigating alleged dumping of hot-rolled steel by producers in Brazil, Iran, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. That could lead to duties imposed by April.<br />
