Thousands of European steel workers protest in Brussels against dumping prices

Thousands of people, including representatives of the European steel industry and around 100 steel workers from U.S. Steel in the Slovak town of Kosice, gathered for a protest in Brussels on Monday to support fair trade, growth and job creation, and to oppose the Chinese dumping prices on EU markets. Managers, unionists and employees from various facilities attended the rally on behalf of U.S. Steel Kosice, including the company's president. Slovak Economy Minister Vazil Hudak served as one of main speakers at a conference on energy-intensive industries held by the European Commission in Brussels on this day. The conference was held against the backdrop of mass protests by European trade unionists from the industrial sector that fear the effects of the lowering prices of Chinese goods. When asked how grave the situation of metallurgy is in Slovakia, Hudak said that due to dumping, it's growing more challenging for steel producers to maintain market shares. Often, they need to sell their products at levels bordering on production costs or lower. Minister Hudak noted that EU member states have pressured the European Commission to take swifter action in protecting domestic goods from dumping - whether it be concerning China or Russia. He added that they're not introducing any extreme measures on the part of the EU. "All we want is for the trade to be based on fair and transparent rules of the game."