Posted on 04/25/2016 12:33:00 PM PDT by huldah1776
Cheap steel from China has been blamed for distorting global markets and putting other countries' steelmakers under pressure. How have we got here and why does it all matter? China's steel industry - what's the problem?
Chinese steel production has expanded hugely. Over the past 25 years, output has grown more than 12-fold. By comparison, the EU's output fell by 12% while the US's remained largely flat.
The drive behind that stellar increase has been China's double-digit economic growth over the past decades. That led to ever more domestic demand for steel and the government invested heavily in the industry during the boom years.
But that demand has been severely hit by the current slowdown, leaving China with more steel than it needs.
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Chinese steel is therefore sold on the international market at extremely low prices - critics say it's sold at a loss. As a consequence, other countries' steel plants find it increasingly hard to compete.
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A simple response would be setting up higher import tariffs....Steel-producing countries India, the US and Indonesia have already raised their import tariffs on steel from China.
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Is there a national security question?
Steel is crucial for the defence industry - just think ships, planes or tanks. So there's the question of whether it is wise to shut down domestic production and import all steel.
Even if it is cheaper to do so, there is the question of whether you want to depend entirely on imports when it comes to one of the ingredients you need for national defence.
Any intentional or unintentional cut in supply could quickly leave you in a vulnerable position.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
I don't think so. Some say the Fed was defending the gold standard, so they wouldn't increase liquidity to assist the banks through their crisis. But there was no coordination of causing a crisis, then applying government solutions.
The Fed just blew it. Some earlier crises had been averted by J.P Morgan and other big banks putting the funds together to provide liquidity.
Roosevelt and others decided that government spending and programs was the way to get out of the 1930s depression. It was eventually WWII that ended it.
The people who have control of the money?
Ah, didn’t know that. From watching NCIS I think it’s cool, though. Or melting hot!
Agreed,their steel is crap.
Even the garage door springs from China only last about half as long as good quality ones used to.
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