U.S. Steel Corp has launched a campaign to prevent imports from China’s largest steel producers,the boldest step yet by a U.S. company, as a trade brawl with the world’s largest steel producer in China escalates.
In a complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. steelmaker asked regulators to investigate dozens of Chinese producers and their distributors for allegedly conspiring to fix export prices, steal trade secrets and circumvent trade duties by false labelling.
Analysts said it could be the most significant development in the U.S. steel trade in a quarter of a century. It will probably ratchet up tension between China and major steel producing nations, many of whom complain that they are suffering because of cheap Chinese imports.