The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) issued a press release Tuesday stating that the revised Boxer-Kerry climate bill pending in the US Senate will still require significant improvements to address competitiveness issues facing the US steel industry and other energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries, "which, if enacted unchanged, would lead to further erosion in America's manufacturing base."
"We do want to thank Senators Specter (D-PA) and Klobuchar (D-MN) for working to increase the percentage of allowances available in the first two years and for creating an allowance reserve for energy-intensive industries," Thomas J. Gibson, president and CEO, AISI, said. "Overall, however, we find the major problems with the House bill remain in the latest Senate version," Gibson said.
"Unless the Senate makes important modifications in the areas of emission allowances, energy cost impacts and border adjustment, US steelmakers and our workers will be at a significant competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace, which will result in extensive job loss and emission migration to overseas markets."
Gibson said this perspective is supported by the Congressional Budget Office's recent analysis which reveals that a cap-and-trade system of pollution credits would slow the nation's economic growth over the next several decades, creating significant job losses in the manufacturing sector.
To read the full text of AISI's critique of the climate bill's impact on US manufacturers, visit www.steel.org.