Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/613635
I DA U N I V E R S A L N ove m b e r - D e ce m b e r 2 0 1 5 17 TRENDS AND TIDBITS Continued on page 19 e British steel industry could be wiped out, unless urgent action is taken to curb Chinese imports and cut energy costs, the head of the World Steel Associa- tion has warned. In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, the Association's Dr. Wolfgang Eder says there could be just six months to save the European steel industry. He says it faces "ruin" unless the European Union acts immediately to cut energy costs and block China from dumping cut-price goods on the market. "It will be really diffi cult to keep steel operations in the UK," he said. Dr. Eder, who is also the chief executive of Voestalpine, which employs more than 650 people in the UK, told the Mirror he feared it may not be possible "in the long run" to produce steel in the UK. " e overall conditions for steel production here in the UK have become more and more unfavorable, and the top problem now is the enormous pressure of imports of Chinese, Korean and Russian steel. "And to be honest, I am not sure it will be possible in the long run to produce steel here in the UK under the current conditions. "But this is not only a UK specifi c problem. It is becoming more and more a problem for the whole European steel industry," he said. " e production environ- ment in Europe has become over the last 10 years extremely unfavorable," he added. "We have regulatory costs that are going up, up, up, and we have the high cost of energy. "Gas is three times more expensive than in the U.S., and we have the increasing cost of environmental protection, and we have the higher cost of taxation. "It will not be possible in the long run to produce in competi- tion with countries like China, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey steel commodities." e World Steel Association represents more than 150 steel producers, including nine of the world's 10 largest steel companies. In past six weeks, more than 5,500 jobs have le the UK steel industry, with thousands more at risk in the supply chain. e Mirror's "Save Our Steel" campaign is demanding action on Chinese dumping, along with an immediate cut in business rates for the steel industry, a break from green taxes and high energy bills, and ensuring all construc- tion projects and all government- backed contracts look to use British-made steel. Dr. Eder said energy costs were a key issue aff ecting the industry in Europe. Asked if there was any hope for UK steel, he replied: "You have to come down on energy costs, environmental costs, costs ofadministration. You have to come down, more or less, on all cost items. " e roots of two-thirds of the problems are in Brussels, not in London. "Brussels must deregulate, over-administration must be reduced. Brussels must rethink energy policy in Europe. "We have to rethink the position in terms of environ- mental and climate change regulation. "I am not in favor of reducing standards. What we need is a level playing fi eld globally, meaning the same conditions all over the world – not tough conditions in Europe and no conditions, or nearly none, in the rest of the world." He was also seething about Europe's slow response to the crisis. A meeting last week of the EU ministers, including Business Secretary Sajid Javid, broke up without any fi rm agreement on how to counter Chinese dumping. Dr. Eder contrasted the reaction of Brussels with British Steel Industry Could Disappear Bleak: World Steel boss Wolfgang Eder says UK industry may not have a future