SteelBriefs | Rep. Bill Johnson (OH-06) Profile

Why is the steel industry important to your state and/or district? And to America?

Steel is the backbone of the American manufacturing and construction economy, and much of what defines skylines across this nation – from Pittsburgh to San Francisco –  was made possible because of the steel produced in our region of the country. Supply Chain Security is the same as National Security, and without a robust domestic steel industry, we cannot continue to make and build the things we need here at home and lead on the international stage. It really is that simple.

Our industry’s legislative priorities are: ensuring unfair trade practices are addressed and a level playing field is established, implementing the Section 232 steel tariffs and quotas, and investing in infrastructure. What are your thoughts on these issues?  

Well, I wholeheartedly agree that we must address adversarial trade practices which resulted in tariffs and quotas in the first place – particularly those coming from China. That is why I introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 6121, the Leveling the playing Field Act 2.0, which would crack down on China’s repeated dumped and subsidized imports flooding the U.S. market. This legislation is the first and a major step in combating unfair foreign trade practices – by modernizing and strengthening the effectiveness of our trade remedies in order to push back on some of the most egregious anti-free market practices from countries like China. There’s no question we must create a more level playing field for U.S. workers in the global marketplace.  As for infrastructure, America has many infrastructure needs, and I support investment in real infrastructure.  But, to meet our infrastructure needs, we must have energy independence and a robust supply chain network.

With new legislation signed into law to provide funding for infrastructure, will you advocate for the use of American steel, which is the cleanest and most energy efficient? 

When it comes to the limited amount of real infrastructure that was included in the legislation, absolutely I support using American steel. We need to use steel made right here in America, with American workers, to rebuild our nation’s roads and bridges. Just drive through my neck of the woods in Eastern and Southeastern and Ohio, and you will see a region ripe for this exact type of investment, and we should be doing that with steel made right here at home.

Steel is a critical component in the continued development of clean energy and technologies to reduce America’s carbon footprint. What are your thoughts on sustainability and how the steel industry is innovating to meet the needs of customers?  

No country has done a better job at reducing its carbon emissions than the United States, and I fully support American innovation through an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. However, when discussing, “clean energy,” we need to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water.  The steel industry, perhaps more than any other industry, knows very well the importance of affordable and reliable power for its energy intensive manufacturing operations.  America needs to keep innovating, but as a member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, I will keep fighting to utilize America’s abundant reserves of oil, natural gas, and coal.

Do you have any other comments or statements about the steel industry?

I would add, simply, that as far as the American steel industry goes, so goes the United States. Because, without the hard working men and women of our steel industry, we would be a nation without a backbone, dependent on our adversaries for the most critical of components – everything from fighter jets and automobiles, buildings, roads and bridges, to hospital beds.