Europe 'negligent' over Chinese steel dumping: US boss

[LONDON] The head of US Steel has accused Britain and the wider European Union of negligence over China dumping cheap steel on world markets.

"The Europeans have been more negligent than anybody," Mario Longhi, chief executive of the biggest steelmaker in the United States, said in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper published on Monday.

"For them to be... considering granting as a fact market economy status to China where you have all the evidence in place that denies them that right it's just ridiculous."

Cheap imports into Europe from China have been blamed by India's Tata Steel as a major reason for its decision to sell its assets in Britain.

Tata is expected to make an announcement on Monday regarding the sale of its plants in Britain, whose government is under pressure to find a buyer with 15,000 jobs at risk.

AFP