European steel makers on Wednesday demanded an EU anti-trust probe to check for monopoly abuse and cartel-type behavior by the three major iron ore suppliers Vale, BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto after price increases of more than 80 percent. European carmakers and engineering companies also complained that higher costs for iron ore, steel's key ingredient, could do serious harm to their business and were not justified by higher demand from emerging economies China, India and Brazil and Steel federation Eurofer, which represents ArcelorMittal SA, ThyssenKrupp AG and Corus Group PLC, said it has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission after Vale and BHP Billiton struck deals with Asian steel mills that would increase iron ore prices by between 80 percent and 100 percent. The group said it saw “strong indications of illicit coordination of prices increases and pricing models and pressure on individual steel producers to accept these changes” that it believed could breach EU competition law. EU regulators can fine companies up to 10 percent of yearly global turnover if they find evidence that they are deliberately choking supply or hiking prices. The European Commission has already acted on an earlier complaint from Eurofer about plans to combine the world's No. 2 and No. 3 iron ore miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. They are examining how the deal will affect global prices or supply for iron ore transported by sea.
