Baoshan Iron & Steel Co, China's biggest steel maker, fell the most in two weeks in Shanghai trading after European rivals, including ArcelorMittal, said they are building an anti-dumping case against Chinese imports.

The Shanghai-based company paced declines by mainland steel makers, dropping 1.1 percent to end at 17.80 yuan (US$2.37) after the biggest decline since September 25. Tangshan Iron & Steel Co, the publicly traded unit of the nation's second-biggest mill, declined five percent to 24 yuan in Shenzhen.

Eurofer, a steel lobby group, is collecting data on Chinese exports to Europe and may present results within four weeks, German Steel Association President Dieter Ameling said on Sunday. "All of us are concerned about China," ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Officer Lakshmi Mittal said the same day.

"Concerns over the European Union taking measures against China's exports put a brake on rising Chinese steel stocks," Zhang Shibao, an analyst with China Merchants Securities Co, told Bloomberg News said.

The 27-nation EU uses punitive tariffs, known as anti-dumping duties, and has recourse to anti-subsidy levies to prevent Chinese exporters from undercutting European manufacturers. The European Commission will defend European interests should unfair trade practices be revealed, Commission Vice President Guenter Verheugen said on Monday.

China, which was a net importer of steel in 2003, will probably export between 50 million and 55 million metric tons of the metal this year, Paolo Rocca, vice chairman of the International Iron and Steel Institute, said on Monday. Rocca is also chairman of oil and gas tube producer Tenaris SA.

The Asian nation, which produces a third of the world's steel, boosted exports 92 percent in the seven months through July after doubling them last year, the Beijing-based Customs General Administration of China said on August 10.

Ma'anshan Iron & Steel Co fell 3.7 percent to 12.96 yuan, in Shanghai. Angang Steel Co declined 3.7 percent to 36.10 yuan.

Philippe Varin, chief executive officer of Corus Group Plc, said imports from China are "becoming a threat," the Financial Times reported on September 28.

(Shanghai Daily October 10, 2007)