Kevin Dempsey, CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), has made a statement supporting the letter sent by the members of the Congressional Steel Caucus to the US president Joe Biden about maintaining current import steel duties and quotas.
“We are pleased and grateful that so many members of Congress have championed the American steel industry and our workers by supporting the preservation of the existing steel tariffs. We appreciate the members of the Steel Caucus recognized that the new investments the steel industry is making, and our global leadership in the production of sustainable steel products, will be at risk if the existing tariffs and quotas do not remain in place. Steel is key to helping America build back better our economy by promoting American manufacturing and the jobs it supports. We stand ready to work with these members of Congress and others to address the global trade distortions in steel that continue to threaten the steel industry and its workers,” Mr. Dempsey said.
The letter sent by Congress emphasized the impact that unfairly traded imports and global steel overcapacity have had on the US steel industry, and that the steel duties and quotas have significantly reduced overall steel imports by eight percent. The Congressional Steel Caucus stated that the current duties and quotas put into place in 2018 through Section 232 should be maintained to ensure the industry can continue recovering from repeated surges in unfairly traded steel imports. Meanwhile, Congress also stated that the steel industry remains at risk due to the effects of the pandemic.