For Immediate Release

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

June 2, 1999 -- Bethlehem Steel Corporation; Gulf States Steel; Ispat Inland Inc.; LTV Steel Company, Inc.; National Steel Corporation; Steel Dynamics, Inc.; U.S. Steel Group, a unit of USX Corporation; the United Steelworkers of America and Weirton Steel Corporation announced the filing of trade law actions on cold-rolled carbon steel flat products. Antidumping suits were filed against imports from Argentina, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Japan*, Russia, South Africa, Slovakia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela. Countervailing duty suits were filed against Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand and Venezuela. The petitioners accounted for 71 percent of shipments of cold-rolled carbon steel flat products by domestic producers in 1998.

The massive imports of unfairly priced and subsidized steel imports that continue to overwhelm the U.S. market are severely injuring American steel companies, their workers, and communities. The industry has a duty to its employees, retirees, shareholders and communities to use all remedies available under the law to stop these unfairly traded imports. Foreign producers continue to ignore international trade rules by flooding this market with dumped and subsidized steel.

The cases filed today allege antidumping margins of as high as 122 percent and subsidy margins as high as 101 percent. Imports of cold-rolled carbon steel flat products from the countries cited in these cases have increased by 121 percent since 1996. Imports from these countries represented over 63 percent of all imports of cold-rolled carbon steel flat products in 1998.

Since the 1980s, the U.S. steel industry has undergone a difficult and successful restructuring, investing over $60 billion dollars in modernizing its plants and technology that resulted in reducing its workforce by over 60 percent. Our industry now is among the world's most efficient. Many foreign producers have not restructured and have not invested and modernized like the U.S. industry. These foreign producers continue to rely on dumping and subsidization to compete. They often operate in closed home markets which allow them to engage in these unfair trade practices.

Consistent with the Administration's commitments, the industry seeks the full relief available under the law to ensure that these unfairly traded imports do not continue to undermine America's steel companies and their workers. The industry urges the Administration to fully enforce the trade laws. In particular, the American steel industry strongly opposes the negotiation by the Commerce Department of any settlement or suspension agreements which take away the industry's rights under the law. Entering into suspension agreement negotiations in these cases indicates that the United States is willing to grant special rules for foreign producers who violate U.S. trade laws. The U.S. industry is fully committed to using the trade laws fully and aggressively to counter unfair trade.

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* National Steel is not a petitioner with respect to imports from Japan.