For Immediate Release

Public Relations Division
Public Affairs Department
1170 Eighth Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699
(610) 694-3711 - Phone
(610) 694-1509 - Fax

April 2, 1999 -- The U.S. International Trade Commission today, by a unanimous vote of 6-0, found that there is a reasonable indication that the domestic cut-to-length carbon steel plate industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury due to dumped and subsidized imports from France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and South Korea. The affirmative vote clears the way for the U.S. Department of Commerce to calculate preliminary antidumping and countervailing duty margins. The domestic industry has alleged antidumping duty margins as high as 119 percent and countervailing duty margins as high as 56 percent.

The ITC’s finding that there is a reasonable indication that the domestic industry is injured or is threatened with material injury underscores the continuing crisis domestic steel producers and workers face. According to Curtis H. Barnette, Chairman and CEO of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, "the ITC’s affirmative vote demonstrates that the steel crisis continues and that decisive, prompt and comprehensive action is required in response."

While the ITC did vote to end the unfair trade investigation with regard to two smaller countries -- Macedonia and the Czech Republic, that vote indicates that imports from these two countries are negligible and had declined in importance in the U.S. market relative to other foreign exporters. Paul Wilhelm, President of U.S. Steel Group, a unit of USX Corp., stated that "today's vote represents another step by the U.S. steel industry and its workers to pursue aggressively all available courses of action."

Since late 1997, the U.S. market has been the focus of dumped and subsidized steel imports from countries directly and indirectly affected by the Asian and South American financial crises. Imports of plate from Japan increased twenty-fold in 1998, ten-fold from Korea, and three-fold from Indonesia. Companies desperate for foreign exchange and companies excluded from their traditional export markets have turned to the United States. "It is imperative that the United States act to stem the flood of unfairly traded imports now" stated George Becker, President of the United Steelworkers of America. "While we welcome this development at the ITC, legislation is desperately needed. We have already lost thousands of jobs in this crisis, and thousands more are at risk if unfairly traded imports continue to flood the U.S. market."

Cut-to-length plate is a flat-rolled steel product that is used in agricultural and construction equipment, bridges, barges and ships, railcars, and building construction.