Bethlehem Steel Corporation
For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 19, 2001 - Despite massive investments in technology in the past decade, the U.S. steel industry "will fall behind in the race to remain competitive" unless comprehensive relief from the steel import crisis is obtained.

"Testifying before the International Trade Commission in response to the filing in June of a Section 201 petition, Duane R. Dunham, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Bethlehem Steel, said that Bethlehem has spent almost four billion dollars in the past 10 years "to upgrade and improve our facilities and production processes to meet our customers' needs and the growing demand for steel for new applications," he said.

However, surges in low-priced imports of flat-rolled steel in the last few years have caused "serious injury to our industry and my company. Repeated surges of low-priced imports have driven prices to record lows. These surges and the depressed market prices have denied us the profits needed to finance major new investments," Mr. Dunham said.

In his testimony to the ITC, which must determine the extent of injury to the domestic steel industry from flat-rolled imports, Mr. Dunham emphasized the need for comprehensive relief. He acknowledged that the ITC has, on previous occasions, created provisions that were limited in scope and duration. "While the relief granted has generally been successful in responding to the surge in a particular product from the identified countries, this targeted relief has not prevented new surges in the same product from different countries or surges in other flat-rolled products," he explained.

Therefore, the Bethlehem chairman asked the ITC to look at all flat-rolled products - from slabs to corrosion-resistant coated steels - as a single industry because all the products are interrelated and dependent on each other. "Imports of one flat-rolled product thus affect margins on all the flat-rolled products we make," Mr. Dunham said.

The current economic dilemma facing the industry has resulted in dramatically increased losses and bankruptcy filings by nine flat-rolled producers, including two that have since liquidated. Surviving steel companies, he said, generally have very limited access to capital for reinvestment.

"Any hope for recovery for this industry is dependent upon an affirmative result in this case. If relief were to be denied, or not provided on a comprehensive basis, we will face renewed import surges the minute the market begins to strengthen. As soon as prices begin to recover, imports surge and prices again collapse, resulting in substantial declines in operating performance," he concluded.

Media Contact: Bette Kovach Bethlehem Steel 610-694-6308

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