The Alliance for American Manufacturing is organizing a rally Monday at US Steel’s Lorain, Ohio tubular plant as part of a national effort to convince the US Commerce Department (DOC) to impose duties on dumped steel imports, specifically the case involving tubular products from South Korea.
"(Lorain) is a highly efficient facility, and there is a potentially a good market here,” said Scott Paul, the organization's president, “but these workers and manufacturers are being unfairly undercut by these imports that are under a fair market price.”
US Steel is one of several steel producers that brought an anti-dumping petition before the DOC, alleging that nine nations were dumping steel pipe and tool products: India, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.
The DOC made a preliminary finding in February requiring duties, of varying amounts, on imports from eight countries--South Korea was exempt, even though tubular import from the country totaled $818 million in 2013, according to government figures. The DOC will announce its final determination in July.
Paul said the rally is being held to raise awareness about the case and the strain the domestic industry could face if a duty is not imposed on South Korean steel. Similar rallies are planned in other communities with tubular steel plants, including Fairfield, Alabama; Granite City, Illinois and McKeesport, Pennsylvania.