UK Business Secretary , Sajid Javid , and his counterparts from France , Italy , Germany and Poland have expressed grave concerns to the European Commission ( EC ) that imports of subsidised Chinese steel continue to hurt the industry . The ministers note that the EU conference on the industry’s woes, slated for 15 February, is an “opportunity to explore these issues”: We should also explore other ways to avoid the downturn of the European steel industry and guarantee the long term and sustainable development of the industry, such as supporting the development of low carbon technologies and processes for the steel industry. They have called for the EC to speed up negotiations to enable a rapid introduction of anti - dumping measures or domestic steel industries will face collapse . As we have previously noted , the UK steel industry is in the grip of a crisis , with over 100 job losses since the summer , claiming it has been hit even harder than its European rivals due to higher costs and taxes . Recent data from the International Steel Statistics Bureau predicts a " dire " outlook for UK steel production with a drop of 20 % expected , the lowest level on record .
UK Business Secretary , Sajid Javid , and his counterparts from France , Italy , Germany and Poland have expressed grave concerns to the European Commission ( EC ) that imports of subsidised Chinese steel continue to hurt the industry . They have called for the EC to speed up negotiations to enable a rapid introduction of anti - dumping measures or domestic steel industries will face collapse . As we have previously noted , the UK steel industry is in the grip of a crisis , with over 100 job losses since the summer , claiming it has been hit even harder than its European rivals due to higher costs and taxes . Recent data from the International Steel Statistics Bureau predicts a " dire " outlook for UK steel production with a drop of 20 % expected , the lowest level on record .