Poland and 6 EU countries call for help for steel industry

Poland, along with France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg have called on the European Union to step up action to relieve the ailing steel industry suffering from tumbling prices and cheap imports from China and Russia, Reuters reported. "The European steel industry – already weakened by the 2008 economic crisis – is tackling chronic use of unfair trade practices in a context of strong international competition intensified by overcapacity at global level," wrote ministers of the countries in a letter to the European Commission and the chair of the EU Council of Ministers. "The European Union cannot remain passive when rising job losses and steelwork closures show that there is a significant and impending risk of collapse in the European steel sector." The seven ministers asked the Commission to make full use of the full range of EU policy instruments to tackle unfair trade. The EU intends to impose duties on imports of cold-rolled flat steel from China and Russia following its investigation into alleged dumping by the two countries, sources told Reuters