AISI Comments On Presidential Proclamation On EU Steel Imports

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), issued the following statement in response to the issuance yesterday of a presidential proclamation implementing a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on steel imports from the EU:

“AISI welcomes the president’s action to implement a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) under Section 232 on steel products imported from the EU in accordance with the agreement reached by the U.S. and EU last October. We are particularly gratified that the president’s proclamation emphasizes that only steel melted and poured in the EU will benefit from this alternative arrangement. Proper implementation and enforcement of the TRQ will be crucial to preventing another steel import surge that would undermine our industry and destroy good paying American jobs.

“We also welcome the president’s direction to the Secretary of Commerce to initiate a regulatory review of the Section 232 exclusions process that will include a focus on enhanced consultations with U.S. companies and labor organizations. AISI looks forward to working with the administration to seek improvements in the exclusions process to ensure that only those steel products truly not available domestically are exempted from the Section 232 measures.

“AISI continues to support the administration’s efforts to negotiate a global arrangement to restore market-oriented conditions in global steel markets and address the carbon-intensity of steel traded around the world. The American steel industry is the cleanest and most energy efficient of the leading steel industries in the world and we have achieved these results through market-driven competition and without reliance on market-distorting government subsidies. This is a model we urge other nations to adopt as we work together to provide solutions to the global climate crisis and to eliminate global excess capacity in steel.”

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Contact: Lisa Harrison

202.452.7115 / lharrison@steel.org

AISI serves as the voice of the American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI’s membership is comprised of integrated and electric arc furnace steelmakers, and associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI’s website at www.steel.org. Follow AISI on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (@AISISteel) or Instagram.