BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker, said on Friday it was assessing the potential impact of planned U.S. tariffs on steel imports, while saying governments were right to take a tough approach to unfair trade.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States would apply duties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminium to protect U.S. producers.
ArcelorMittal, which has sizeable operations in both Europe and the United States, repeatedly has complained about cheap imports from China and other countries hurting its business.
“The significant steelmaking overcapacity that has developed this century, and the rise in exports we have seen from several steel-producing nations, legitimises governments worldwide taking a tough approach to addressing unfair trade practices,” ArcelorMittal said in a statement.
“The greater need, however, is to create a truly sustainable global steel industry, and the only way to do this is for steel-producing nations around the world to work together to address global overcapacity,” it said, adding it was assessing the likely impact of the U.S. measures on its business and the industry as a whole. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)