US steel industry executives and representatives from steel associations and unions testified today to members of the House Steel Caucus regarding the Section 232 tariffs, which are set to take effect Friday.
John Ferriola, chairman, CEO and president of Nucor and Chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) said, ”By imposing tariffs on imported steel, President Trump is sending a strong message that dumping steel into our market will no longer be tolerated. The President’s action will allow us to realize a return on our investments, and will help get the industry on a more sustainable path long-term. The President’s decisive trade action and congressional leadership in enacting tax reform will ensure that the best days of the American steel industry are still to come.”
David Burritt, president and CEO, US Steel stated, “President Trump’s Section 232 action recognizes that, for too long, the status quo approaches to steel imports were failing our country’s security. America cannot afford to outsource an industry as vital to security as steel. At United States Steel Corporation, we’re already working to do our part. We’re restarting steelmaking operations at Granite City Works, calling back workers, and continuing to support our customers with the high-quality products they have come to expect from our company for more than a century.”
Roger Newport; CEO of AK Steel Corporation and incoming Chairman of AISI, said, “In the case of a natural disaster or a cyber- or physical attack on the country’s electrical grid, the United States’ national security cannot be put in jeopardy as a result of the absence of a domestic supply chain supporting the key components of the electrical grid. A stable domestic manufacturing base for cores and transformers, built from domestically produced electrical steel, is vital to the national security interests of the United States. But that capability is also at risk as there are only a few remaining US producers of these important electrical infrastructure products.”
John Brett, president and CEO of ArcelorMittal USA, said, “As China dumps its steel in other markets, those producers suffer and look for alternatives—often in the United States. China’s largest export market is South Korea. One of South Korea’s largest export markets is the United States. That’s the way the steel flows. The industry has aggressively used the trade remedy tools the Congress has provided. But they aren’t fully doing the job. With our country by country remedies, we are playing ‘Whack-A-Mole’ with global imports, and the mole is winning.”
Leo W. Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers (USW) International President said thousands of laid-off steelworkers will soon be recalled to their jobs as a result of relief measures taken by the administration in the interest of national defense under Section 232 of the Trade Act. He also said that pro-trade economists and pundits have greatly exaggerated the potential impact of the 25 percent steel import tariff on consumers and at the same time ignored the manufacturing workers and communities that decades of so-called "free" trade have devastated.