The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) commented on Monday’s US International Trade Commission (ITC) hearing, the final phase of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on steel concrete reinforcing bar from Turkey and Mexico.
“This is a significant decision for a number of domestic rebar producers, who provide thousands of high-paying jobs at production facilities across the nation,” said SMA President Philip K. Bell.
“Mexico and Turkey are important allies and trading partners. But trade laws exist for a reason. Unfair trade harms domestic steel producers, as well as the communities in which they operate,” Bell said.
“We are extremely disappointed in the earlier decision with regard to Turkey, a nation that has no comparative advantage in steelmaking. Turkish producers purchase U.S. scrap, manufacture steel products, ship them back to the US paying freight both ways, and then somehow undercut domestic prices. I don’t see how the numbers add up,” Bell said.
“US minimills can compete with producers anywhere in the world. The US market, however, cannot be the outlet for the world’s overcapacity problem. We have recently seen modest increases in demand for rebar, but US steel producers have not been the primary beneficiaries. Domestic rebar production has not yet returned to pre-recession levels, with utilization rates hovering around 60 percent. There is significant unused capacity,” Bell said.