Bipartisan Trade Bill Supported by AISI
By
Metal Center News Staff on
Jun 7, 2023

The American Iron and Steel Institute applauded the introduction of the Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0. The bill is bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Todd Young (R-IN), and in the House by Reps. Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Terri Sewell (D-AL).
The bill, officially titled “Eliminating Global Market Distortions to Protect American Jobs Act of 2023,” aims to strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws to crack down on unfair trade practices and enhance the enforcement tools needed to combat repeat offenders of the U.S. trade remedy laws. The bill also addresses the growing problem of “cross-border subsidization” where foreign governments subsidize industries, such as steel, not only in their own countries but in other countries as well.
“The American steel industry is the backbone of the U.S. economy and produces the cleanest steel in the world. But the industry has faced repeated surges of unfairly traded steel imports in recent years, due largely to dumped and subsidized imports from many countries and regions, including those that produce steel with higher carbon-intensity than U.S. steelmakers," said Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of AISI. "American steelmakers have successfully sought relief under the U.S. trade remedy system, only to face new surges of steel imports of the same products from other countries not subject to the original antidumping or countervailing duty orders. By strengthening the effectiveness of the U.S. trade laws, this bill will help give the American public confidence that their government has every tool available to fight for a level playing field for the American steel industry and our workers."
Dempsey noted the bill also addresses subsidization across borders, such as when Chinese steelmakers, through its “Belt and Road Initiative,” build new export-oriented steelmaking facilities in other Asian countries – including Indonesia, Vietnam and others – which then export steel to the U.S. market.