Steel Industry Meets with President
on Continuing Steel Import Crisis
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
For Immediate Release
Washington, DC, August 5, 1999 -- Major American steel producers and the Presidents of the AFL-CIO and of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) met today with President Clinton and key White House and Cabinet Officials to discuss actions needed to deal with the continuing steel import crisis and to be briefed on current Administration plans.
The continuing steel import crisis, which forced several American steel companies into bankruptcy and has resulted in over 10,000 lost jobs, continues to be a major problem. The Administration confirmed the continuation of the ongoing crisis and has identified several measures it believes may help reduce unfairly traded imports and also help prevent future crises of this magnitude. The domestic steel industry appreciates these efforts and the commitments of the Administration, and expressed its willingness to continue to work with the Administration to develop an effective program to counter unfair trade and its origins.
The key actions needed are:
The Administration's plan recognizes that global steel overcapacity, that is the result of massive subsidies and protected markets, is the cause of the unprecedented levels of dumping of steel into the American market. These market-distorting practices have allowed many foreign steel companies to engage in massive unfair trade and have caused severe damage to American steel companies and workers.
The Administration has committed to vigorous and full enforcement of U.S. law against all unfair trade. We acknowledge the enforcement actions taken by Commerce Secretary Daley, but oppose settlements or suspension agreements entered into without the approval of the injured parties.
The Administration has agreed to work with the industry in considering appropriate amendments to the U.S. trade laws to more effectively deal with unfairly traded imports. The import crisis certainly demonstrates once and for all the need to enhance U.S. trade laws, such as those provisions being proposed by the Fair Trade Law Enhancement Act of 1999 (H.R. 1505).
The Administration has committed to continuing efforts through bilateral discussions to end foreign exports of unfairly traded goods to the United States. We fully support the Administration's commitment to prevent any weakening of the trade remedies in international negotiations, including the upcoming WTO ministerial conference this fall in Seattle. We also support the Administration's focus on eliminating subsidies of foreign steel producers both by ensuring that funds from international financial institutions are not used to subsidize foreign steel production, and by requiring meaningful subsidy discipline as a condition for entry into the WTO.
The industry, the USWA and the Independent Steelworkers Union have successfully litigated four cases on hot-rolled sheet from Japan, Russia, and Brazil, which accounted for seven million tons of hot-rolled sheet imports in 1998. The industry and USWA presently have eleven cases on plate and fourteen cases on cold-rolled sheet pending at the Department of Commerce after receiving unanimous affirmative injury determinations from the International Trade Commission. The industry and USWA are researching additional cases and are committed to utilizing their legal rights against unfair trade practices.
Media contact:
Bob Bilheimer, Bethlehem Steel, 610-694-5722