Daniel DiMicco, chairman and CEO of
US-based steel producer
Nucor Group, gave an interesting presentation at the Steel Success Strategies meeting in New York, addressing several issues ranging from the alleged dumping of steel imports in the
US to the upcoming presidential elections.
In his speech, Mr. DiMicco once again blamed
China,
Turkey and South Korea for past and current abuse of the steel market in the
US by dumping steel exports. He complained that the free and open market status of the
US was abused by exporters from these countries and emphasized that all freedoms come with rules. He warned these mills exporting to the
US that there is a huge fight in the offing.
DiMicco stated that the real unemployement rate in the
US is over 15 percent, while going on to say that a record high number of jobs have to be created on a monthly basis to make up for the current lack of jobs. He added that, with the game-changing impact of shale gas, the availability of low cost energy now gives a lot of opportunities to create real business in the
US. He said the
US needs to look no further than its crumbling infrastructure and trade deficit to solve the unemployement problem as well as to get out of the recession.
According to the
Nucor chairman and CEO, rebuilding of infrastructure would cost $2.4 trillion over six years, which would mean an average of $400 billion per year. DiMicco stated that the
US must address the $700 billion per year trade deficit by increasing manufacturing. He suggested half of the deficit, i.e., $350 billion per year, can be turned into jobs in the country, and as such a total of $750 billion worth of jobs can be created on a yearly basis for the next six years. DiMicco urged the
US administration to open the doors for this suggestion.