Mittal spent big dollars lobbying with US on China

Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal has spent millions of dollars for lobbying with US lawmakers on a variety of issues, including support for action against China's unfair trading practices and export restrictions.

As per the latest lobbying disclosure report filed with the US Senate and the House of Representatives, ArcelorMittal spent $470,000 during the first quarter of 2009 on various lobbying activities.

In all, ArcelorMittal USA, part of the world's largest steel empire run by Mittal, has spent $4.16 million on its lobbying activities among the US lawmakers and in various government departments since 2006 for various issues.

These include favouring and further strengthening of Buy America provisions and opposition to certain policies of China. When contacted, an ArcelorMittal spokesperson said: We are in favour of global trade under fair conditions. If products are being sold in markets at unfair conditions, such as dumping, governments should be able to challenge such unfair practices.

The spokesperson, however, noted that ArcelorMittal was not lobbying against the Chinese government policies and, in fact, it was supporting the stimulus package put forward by the Chinese government.

China is the world's largest steel producer with annual capacity totally 660 million tonnes (MT). ArcelorMittal is the single largest producer of the alloy in the world with a capacity of 103 MT, over 10 per cent of the world output.