- Talks break down and end in failure. No, I'm not talking about oil. I'm talking about steel.
"Unless China starts to take timely and concrete actions to reduce its excess production and capacity in industries including steel ... the fundamental structural problems in the industry will remain and affected governments - including the United States - will have no alternatives other than trade action to avoid harm to their domestic industries and workers," U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement.
But there were signs the spat was spreading. The United Steelworkers (USW) said on Monday it has filed a case with U.S. regulators seeking to stem a "flood" of aluminum imports the trade unions says have damaged U.S. producers and threatened jobs.
The case is the latest move by the U.S. aluminum industry to try and get authorities to investigate the impact of rising imports, particularly from China, the world's top producer and consumer of base metals.
