Senators call on Obama administration to address steel industry issues

A majority of the Senate Finance Committee on Monday called on the Obama administration to address excess steel imports coming into the United States and the violation of trade rules.

Led by Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the panel sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker urging them to address global over-capacities in steel, aluminum and other commodities to ensure that U.S. trading partners are abiding by global rules, including the recently customs law passed earlier this year. 

{mosads}The senators wrote that overcapacities “are significantly impacting global production, consumption and trade flows of those products.” 

“Much of this global over-capacity stems from foreign government subsidies and other market-distorting policies that are creating challenges for companies and workers across the United States and abroad,” they said. 

The letter comes ahead of a Tuesday hearing with Froman and Pritzker and Ohio Sens. Rob Portman (R) and Sherrod Brown (D) who are slated to testify over two days before at the International Trade Commission on the status of the global steel industry and the effect on the U.S. industry.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has reported that global crude steelmaking capacity more than doubled between 2000 and 2014, with growth led by China.  

Meanwhile, global demand for steel, including U.S. and Chinese demand, has decreased.  

As a result, significant increases in exports of Chinese steel have entered global markets, including the United States, hitting the U.S. industry.

Joining Hatch and Wyden in signing the letter are: Sens. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Brown, John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Portman, Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).