Steel forum calls for more tariffs, fewer subsidies to fight excess capacity

Members of an OECD forum on excess steel capacity agreed on Wednesday to work towards imposing more tariffs on steel from China and other overproducing countries, and to refrain from subsidies that maintain loss-making steel mills or encourage new uneconomic plants.



The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity said in a statement that its membership of 28 market-oriented economies agreed on the new framework to combat excess production, as a US-led G20 trade ministers' meeting got underway in Milwaukee.



The OECD said excess steel capacity above global demand is expected to increase to 745 million metric tons from 601 million tons in 2025.



G20 member China, which produces over half the world's steel, is widely viewed as the largest source of excess capacity but is not a member of the forum, nor is India, the second-largest producer and a major exporter.