AISI Announces Launch of Campaign to Educate Policymakers about the New Face of America's Steel Industry

At its recent AISI General Meeting in Boca Raton, Fla., AISI announced plans to launch an advocacy campaign designed to inform and educate Washington policymakers about the New steel industry's advanced technologies, environmental achievements and economic impact—all reasons this industry is one of America's strategic assets.

"The North American steel sector is a globally-competitive industry that has undergone a dynamic transformation in recent years," AISI Chairman Louis L. Schorsch, president and CEO, Mittal Steel USA, said. "Research shows us that there is general awareness on Capitol Hill and among opinion leaders of the steel industry's importance to our nation's economic and national security, but there is a gap in terms of the significance of that impact, and there remains limited knowledge of the advanced technologies and reduced environmental footprint that characterize today's globally-competitive industry." He referenced a 2005 Congressional Omnibus survey conducted on behalf of AISI by Harris Interactive, AISI's research firm of record.

Schorsch said AISI is committed to taking that story to Members of Congress and officials throughout government, both in the federal agencies and the White House, to emphasize "that this is a vital industry, the backbone of American manufacturing and one that is vital to our nation's military. We want policymakers to recognize that having a strong domestic steel industry is important to jobs and to the economy. They need to recognize that U.S. steel industry productivity has more than tripled since the early 1980s, generating each year more than $350 billion in direct and indirect economic output," he said.

"We also have a remarkable environmental story to tell," Schorsch said, "that is not yet widely known. For example, most people aren't aware that steel is by far the most recycled material in North America," he noted, "or that over the past decade, American steelmakers have reduced the energy required to produce one ton of steel by 28 percent, hand-in-hand with reducing emissions to levels well below Kyoto standards. We plan to more aggressively get these facts before lawmakers and regulators so that they can develop sound public policy based on a thorough understanding of America's steel sector."

Schorsch said that along with Harris Interactive, AISI's other partner for the campaign is Blue Worldwide, the advertising subsidiary of Edelman. It is envisioned as a multi-year campaign, Schorsch said. For more information, contact Katie Gallagher.