Behind the scenes in Brussels, European steel manufacturers are lobbying for “trade defence instruments” to be used against Chinese steel imports. It is being claimed that China is dumping its steel in the European market. This is a totally unjustifiable claim not least because China has a 10% tax on its steel exports.

European steel-makers are failing to keep up with demand for steel, which means that prices are artifically hiked. Imports are an essential safety valve, preventing steel customers from being held to ransom by inefficient producers. Slapping tariffs on steel imports would have the effect of putting higher-end European manufacturers out of business and would raise the prices consumers pay for dishwashers and European cars.

While only 250,000 Europeans are employed in steel-making, 7m are employed in industries that rely on cheap steel. When US President George Bush imposed steel tariffs, 26,000 jobs were lost in steel-using industries, compared with 5,000 steel-making jobs saved. Profits by US steel-makers rose by $240m but steel-using companies saw their profits cut by $600m. Mr Bush’s damaging policy had to be reversed. It would be a wholly unwelcome development for the EU to copy America’s mistaken adventure.