The Capitol Line

AISI Awaits Release of Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Legislation…

In early-October, Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)* and John Warner (R-VA) are slated to release the text of their much-anticipated climate change bill, which is expected to call for a 70% reduction in overall U.S. emissions (by 2050) through implementation of a mandatory cap-and-trade program.

The Lieberman-Warner legislation plans to accomplish these reductions by requiring utilities, petroleum refiners, steel producers and other heavy-manufacturing industries to curb their emissions to year 2005 levels by 2012. An additional 10% emissions cut would also be mandated by 2020 to help realize the goal of 70% reduction by mid-century.

AISI and several other Washington-based trade associations believe this bill will be the eventual legislative vehicle chosen by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for consideration and passage through her committee.

The Institute continues to work with member companies to address the Lieberman-Warner bill and other climate change legislation, which if composed too stringently, could have a devastating impact on domestic steel production, the manufacturing sector, and the U.S. economy in general.

* Denotes Steel Caucus Member

…While Citing Serious Concerns over China’s WTO Non-Compliance…

In response to an August Federal Register Notice issued by the Office of the United States Trade Representative's (USTR) Trade Policy Staff Committee, AISI submitted official comments on the status of the People's Republic of China's compliance with its World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations.

The Institute's comments focused specifically on trading rights, export regulation, internal policies affecting trade, intellectual property rights, and other trade commitments while emphasizing how Chinese subsidies, currency manipulation, overcapacity and non-market behaviors are hurting the U.S. manufacturing base as a whole.

In addition, this submission expressed the urgent need for the U.S. government to strictly enforce all U.S. fair trade statutes on record, consider taking WTO action to deal with Chinese subsidies that are prohibited by the WTO, and continue to treat China as a non-market economy (NME) under U.S. antidumping law.

To view AISI's official submission to USTR, please please visit AISI's Public Policy Web site.

…And Alerting U.S. Customs & Border Protection of Potential Concerns with the Quality of Imported Chinese Steel Products

This past month, the Institute also offered a written statement for the record to the U.S. Customs Border Protection's (CBP) Office of International Affairs and Trade Relations, requesting that the quality of imported Chinese steel products be considered during the Bureau's development of a proposed "Import Safety Strategic Framework."

AISI's comments underscored the growing concerns of domestic producers, suppliers and consumers, who are becoming increasingly alarmed by the amount of imported Chinese steel and steel products that fail to meet a wide variety of domestic and international performance standards and specifications.

Several recent news articles were included in the Institute's submission, which indicate that there may be widespread failure on the part of the Chinese to meet applicable safety and performance standards and customer specifications required for safe use in these specific applications.

To view AISI's official submission to CBP, please visit the AISI's Public Policy Web site.

AISI Policy Council Microsite Outranks the Rest

AISI has ranked #1 overall for mid-year rankings on the National Journal's "Policy Council." Last year, AISI's microsite ranked #1 for the entire year, even out ranking sites from the telecomm and financial industries. In addition, AISI's microsite has had over 140,000 page-views since its launch in January 2006. A contributing factor has been visibility gained inside the Beltway from the New Steel Campaign.

The most viewed page on AISI's microsite has been the state maps, which provide Hill staffers with an overview of AISI member steel production in each state and Congressional district. In addition, due to all of the focus around climate change and global warming, AISI's Climate Change priorities is one of the top most viewed pages on the mircosite.

The National Journal's Policy Council provides users with access to thousands of position papers, expert contacts and other policy-related information from its member organizations. More specifically, AISI's individual microsite offers access to pertinent policy information regarding the North American steel industry. For more information, visit AISI's Policy Council microsite or contact Matt Davison.

Check Out AISI's Public Policy Efforts on the Web

AISI's Public Policy Homepage

AISI's Legislative Action Center

National Journal's Policy Council - AISI Micro-Site Homepage

For more information on these websites, contact Matt Davison.

Jennifer Diggins

Matthew Davison

202.452.7214

202.452.7133

jdiggins@steel.org

mdavison@steel.org