As sales slow, US, EU steel makers call for fair trade

Cardiff, Wales

WITH thunderous roars and flashes of blue light, an electric arc furnace at a steel mill in this industrial city melts 170 tonnes of scrap metal at a time, which is made into reinforcing bars for construction projects across Britain.

The furnace, decked out with all the latest gear, helps keep costs down by relying on local scrap instead of imported materials. It was part of a broad US$500 million investment plan to make the steel mill competitive and profitable.

But China has stymied the strategy.

The steel mill, owned by the privately held Celsa Group of Spain, just cannot compete with Chinese rivals, which offered products at 20 per cent below prevailing rates in Britain. …