Four organizations representing the American steel industry and the United Steelworkers took their case to Capitol Hill urging action on legislation strengthening U.S. trade remedy laws to crack down on unfair trade practices and enhance the enforcement tools needed to combat repeat offenders of the U.S. trade remedy laws. Nearly 30 attendees representing steel producers, pipe and tube manufacturers and union workers across the United States highlighted that dumped and subsidized steel from China and elsewhere has harmed the American steel industry and applauded the introduction of the “Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act (LTPF),” introduced in the House by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Beth Van Duyne (R- TX) and in the Senate by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Todd Young (R-IN). The bipartisan bills currently have a combined 80 cosponsors.
Representatives from ArcelorMittal, Atkore, Cleveland-Cliffs, Metallus, Inc., North American Stainless, Nucor, Outokumpu, SSAB Americas, Steel Dynamics, Vallourec, and United Steelworkers (USW) – in addition to the steel advocacy groups American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports (CPTI) and the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) – participated in the events.
AISI president and chief executive officer Kevin Dempsey said, “The American steel industry has faced repeated surges of unfairly traded steel imports in recent years – due largely to dumped and subsidized imports from many countries and regions, including those that produce steel with higher carbon intensity than U.S. steelmakers. By strengthening the effectiveness of the U.S. trade laws, this bill will help give the American public confidence that their government has every tool available to fight for a level playing field for the American steel industry and our workers.”
Executive director and general counsel of CPTI Roger B. Schagrin said, “U.S. steel pipe and tube producers and their employees rely on a level playing field and this legislation provides tools which will ensure the industry can continue to compete in a world market plagued by steel overcapacity and distortions caused by Chinese government ownership of their steel industry. We commend the sponsors of this bill for their commitment on this important legislation and urge Congress to act this year to ensure that the pipe and tube industry and its workers can play a vital role in the U.S. economy and support our national security.”
