The Cost Of Chinese Steel Industry Subsidization

A new report attempts to quantify government subsidization of Chinese steel and the Fed has left interest rates alone again.

Steel Associations Release Chinese Subsidy Report

Five of the leading American steel trade associations today released a report documenting that the steel industry in China is heavily subsidized by its government, and the rapid growth in the industry there has been fueled by government subsidies and other market-distorting policies.

The report was released by the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports, the Specialty Steel Industry of North America and the American Institute of Steel Construction.

The report analyzed each of the 25 largest steel companies in China and detailed the amount and types of government subsidies each company received in recent years. The analysis also found that these subsidies and policies have led to tremendous overcapacity and created a highly fragmented domestic steel sector in China made up of many inefficient, and heavily polluting, companies.

The full report is available from AISI.

Fed Holds Rates Steady Again

The Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve decided to maintain the target range for the its benchmark interest rate, the federal funds rate, at 1/4 to 1/2 of 1%.

The Fed, in a statement after a two-day meeting of its policy-making committee, said that the economy had overcome wobbles this year and that job creation had increased with moderate economic growth. The central bank added that it saw fewer clouds on the horizon as the U.S. entered the eighth year of an economic expansion.