“The news that Eurofer have withdrawn their anti-dumping complaint originally filed in December 2007 against imports of cold rolled stainless steel from China, Korea and Taiwan is welcome.  It only makes sense. It is also not a surprise since the steel industry also withdrew their anti-dumping complaint against imports of hot-dip galvanised sheet from China” said Adrian Harris, Secretary General of Orgalime, the European engineering industries association. 

Indeed Orgalime believes that these complaints, already at their outset, were unwarranted and do not feel that the continuous sabre rattling by the steel industry is helpful towards achieving a fair and free trade system along the whole of the engineering supply chain.

Orgalime represents the mechanical, metalworking, electronic and electrical engineering industry, Europe’s largest manufacturing sector (NACE 28 to 33).   Added Harris “At the present time in particular, we are keen to see that the European Commission take a stand in favour of free and fair trade and to resist protectionist pressures which can only undermine world trade and economic recovery. Our companies, which are predominantly SMEs, not only serve industry customers and consumers in internal market, but compete on global markets, where our industry’s exports account for one third of manufactured exports from the European Union. Closing this case will be one less headache for them to deal with in an extremely challenging and competitive market”.

Ends

Orgalime, the European Engineering Industries Association, speaks for 35 trade federations representing some 130,000 companies in the mechanical, electrical, electronic, metalworking & metal articles industries of 23 European countries. The industry employs over 11 million people in the EU and in 2007 accounted for some €1,813 billion of annual output. The industry not only represents more than one quarter of the output of manufactured products but also a third of the manufactured exports of the European Union

Mark Redgrove
Head of Communications
ORGALIME aisbl  |  Diamant Building  |  Boulevard A Reyers 80  |  B1030  |  Brussels  |  Belgium
Tel: +32 2 706 82 56  |  Fax: +32 2 706 82 50  |  www.orgalime.org