China rejects Canadian accusation of steel dumping

China dismissed steel dumping accusation from Canada and called on global cooperation to tackle the global issue of steel overcapacity.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday accused China of flooding global markets with cheap steel and said his country would take actions to prevent “dumping”, AFP reported.

Lu Kang, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Affairs, rejected on Tuesday the blame at a media briefing in Beijing.

With firm determination and practical measures, China has made remarkable progress in cutting steel overcapacity, along with great sacrifice, he said.

China reduced 115 million tons of steel capacity between 2016 and 2017, official data showed.

It will continue to cut 30 million tons this year, according to the 2018 government work report released on March 5.

Lu also pointed out that the steel overcapacity is a global issue rather than a problem faced only by China. Therefore, China expects all steel making countries to reduce overcapacity with joint efforts.

Trudeau’s accusation against China comes after Canada, which is the biggest supplier of steel and aluminum to the US market, has just been temporarily exempted from steel and aluminum tariff that US claim to impose, which has caused a global trade tension.

Before the exemption, Trudeau said on March 2 that any US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would be "absolutely unacceptable".

(CGTN)