The president of U. S. Steel Košice Scott Buckiso also supports USSK and the European steel industry in the march. „We went to Brussels to express loudly the trade issues that hurt the European steel industry and its future,“ said USSK president Scott Buckiso and continued: „I am proud how active and involved my colleagues from U. S. Steel Kosice were in communicating our joint opinion. Our message for the European Commission was clear: we have to stop the flood of products from China and other countries unfairly sold in Europe at dumping prices. We said YES to jobs and fair trade, but also said NO to Market Economy Status for China.
We strongly oppose and expect the Commission to deny MES for China, as it does not meet market economy criteria. Countries around the world, including the United States, have launched aggressive actions to stem the flow of unfairly subsidized and dumped steel products from China. U. S. Steel Kosice also participated in the Commission’s anti-dumping investigations into imports and we expect the EU to take an uncompromising stance in using all of the tools at its disposal. Another strong appeal to the EC concerned the EU Emission Trading Scheme proposal post 2020 which places a huge competitive disadvantage for European steelmakers, as it creates a huge cost burden even for the most efficient steel plants in Europe.
On the other hand, dumped products from China have about 50 % higher environmental footprint than products produced in the EU. A too ambitious EU climate policy should not be a threat for the competitiveness of the steel sector. We asked in one voice for a global level playing field. The European Union is one of the most open markets in the world and we strongly believe that European manufacturers, including U. S. Steel Kosice can compete with anyone as long as the playing field is level.”
