In hearings held in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, US Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross repeated his desire to complete the ongoing Section 232 investigation into steel imports' effect on US national security by the end of June.
Attendees of the hearing included domestic mill CEOs, foreign representatives, representatives of US-based foreign owned mills, union representatives, downstream value added producers and others in the steel industry.
While US mills articulated their strong support for the policy designation that would expand remedies beyond existing countervailing and antidumping cases, several went further to endorse the expansion of the national security scope to include aspects of US infrastructure.
On the other side of the aisle, several industries requested exemptions, notably the US Tire Manufacturers Association. Tracey Norberg, the association’s VP, expressed concern for the technically specific wire rod used in tires that is not available domestically.
Alexander Zhmykhov, Trade Representative from Russia, warned against policies that may duplicate or even conflict with present trade laws along with the fact that foreign entities have made financial investments in the US and their successful operations require imports of certain products, sizes or other materials to meet operational needs or technical specifications.
Mark Millett, CEO of Steel Dynamics, agreed that while some exclusions may be necessary, they are evidence of US steel business segments that had to close under the pressure from imports. He stated that “they are relatively few and can be easily identified and separated from the rest of the products as part of the Section 232 process” but should not sway the broad policy.