Green Paper EU Trade Defence Instruments

In December 2006, the Commission launched a public consultation (Green Paper) on the European Union’s Trade Defence Instruments (EU TDI) to ensure that these instruments work well and be adapted to a globalizing world economy.

For the European steel industry, TDI is an essential, legitimate tool to combat injurious unfair trade practices typical to market-distorting shifts in steel trade flows. Globalization, intensifying trade between the regions, makes TDI even more relevant: It is the only recourse that EU manufacturers have against competitors in third countries who under-cut them, not on the basis of genuine comparative advantages, but because they benefit from governmental support and policies that effectively insulates them from market competition. This is notably a feature in emerging countries and economies in transition.

For a detailed view on European steel industry’s position on EU TDI, see: