Overcapacity effects: Steel sector leads demand for protection from China

Steel producers have petitioned the government that their capacity expansion will be under threat unless prices, and therefore margins, are supported through tariffs

For almost a decade, economists have been advising the Government of China to “rebalance” its economy away from investment towards consumption. What can be judged of the Chinese economy suggests either that a process of rebalancing is indeed under way, or that the hazards that rebalancing was meant to avoid have finally caught up. Productivity is undergoing a transition; real estate demand and construction demand have slackened; it looks like household savings will decline and consumption patterns will shift. The purchasing managers’ index (manufacturing) has read below 50 for multiple recent months. The size and power of