European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy called Tuesday for a bold restructuring of the U.S. steel industry to resolve the global trade row prompted by Washington's imposition of emergency steel import tariffs.
"There is no way we are going to get out of this situation without an ultra-restructuring in the U.S., as half the U.S. steel industry is totally under-competitive," Lamy told a breakfast gathering of the European Business Community in Japan.
Lamy said he would discuss the issue with Japanese steel industry officials later in the day, including the short-term prospects of "price bubbles" following the U.S. tariffs of up to 30 percent imposed in March to rescue its beleaguered steel industry.