ArcelorMittal Responds to French Competition Council Announcement
12/17/2008 - ArcelorMittal responds to the French Competition Authority’s imposition of a €301.78 million fine on the company’s French subsidiaries that are active in steel distribution.
The French Competition Authority (Conseil de la Concurrence) has imposed a €301.78 million fine on French subsidiaries of ArcelorMittal that are active in steel distribution.
The fine is the result of an investigation started in 2004 by the Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes (DGCCRF) into historical anticompetitive practices in the steel distribution sector in France, which started in mid 1999.
ArcelorMittal stated that it takes matters of this nature extremely seriously, and that it has a rigorous global compliance program in place to combat anticompetitive practices.
Arcelor said that it expects to make an appeal, based on its initial review of the Conseil de la Concurrence’s decision. The company said that it has no further comment to make on the situation.
ArcelorMittal is the world's largest steel company, with over 326,000 employees in more than 60 countries. It leads a number of major global steel markets, including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with leading R&D and technology, as well as sizeable captive supplies of raw materials and outstanding distribution networks. With an industrial presence in over 20 countries spanning four continents, the company covers key steel markets, from emerging to mature.
Through its core values of sustainability, quality and leadership, ArcelorMittal commits to operating in a responsible way with respect to the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees, contractors and the communities in which it operates. It is also committed to sustainable management of the environment and of finite resources. ArcelorMittal recognizes that it has a significant responsibility to tackle the global climate change challenge; it takes a leading role in the industry's efforts to develop breakthrough steelmaking technologies; and is actively researching and developing steel-based technologies and solutions that contribute to combat climate change.
In 2007, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $105.2 billion and crude steel production of 116 million tonnes, representing around 10% of world steel output.
