India, May 3 — With tension between China and the United States far from tapering off anytime soon, it is in trade and economic sectors where Beijings activities appear to have further hit panic button in the US as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his April 24-26 visit to East Asian country, raised his concern on dumping of Chinese products, including steel and aluminium in the American market, reports Financial Post.
On April 17, worried by Chinas continued dumping of steel and aluminium in the American market, President Joe Biden called on the US Trade Representative (USTR) to consider tripling the tariff on supply of these products from China, reports the Financial Post.
In March 2024, Chinas steel exports to the US jumped 25.3 percent (to 9.89 million) compared to March 2023, while its exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products to the US totalled around 5,10,000 tonsa year-on-year increase of 3.1 percent, as per data from Chinas General Administration of Customs.
The notion that Chinas overcapacity harms the global market is a complete fallacy. Those who spread that narrative to justify protectionism have nothing to gain from it and will only destabilize and disrupt industrial and supply chains, said Lin Jian, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson of China.
This has stoked tensions in the US and the European Union as they fear that Chinas move could harm their plan to reduce their dependence on Beijing that they want to do by boosting local manufacturing and creating jobs, including through the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, according to reports.
Yet China appears to be less concerned about the impact of flooding the international market with its cheap goods so far as it helps it in earning profits, reports said.
According to the Financial Post, Chinas first quarter GDP rose 5.3 percent growing by 1.6 percent from the previous quarter.
Analysts see it as an unbalanced recovery and for this, they blame China which relies heavily on manufacturing and exports to checkmate downturn in its economy, as per reports.
However, it is in the case of Chinas unfair, non-market policies and practices to dominate the shipbuilding industries that pot is boiling in the US and the world, as reported by the Financial Post.