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ROCKEFELLER WELCOMES PRESIDENT’S SUPPORT ON 201; CAUTIONS INDUSTRY REMAINS AT RISK
-Senator Says President’s 201 Remedies to Provide 30 Percent Tariffs on Certain Products, with Exemptions, May Not Provide Industry and Workers With Sufficient Relief-

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After the White House announced President Bush’s decision on steel remedies today, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said that he welcomes the President’s support on Section 201, but cautions the American steel industry remains at risk. Rockefeller said the President’s decision is a good first step that will buy the industry time, and should have a strong effect on both steel prices and import levels, which is what the embattled domestic steel industry needs. Rockefeller also noted that the President’s decision clearly and correctly recognized the serious injury to the American steel industry.

To guarantee the steel industry’s long-term survival, Rockefeller said that the President must now address the tough issues of legacy costs and consolidation to ensure the future of the American steel industry. The Senator said that President Bush’s decision to provide only a scaled-down version of recommended tariffs, with sizeable exemptions, still leaves the steel industry at some considerable risk.

The following is Senator Rockefeller’s reaction to President Bush’s decision on Section 201 remedies:

"I welcome the President’s support on 201 remedies. The President’s decision clearly and correctly recognizes that the embattled steel industry has suffered greatly as a result of illegally subsidized, cheap, foreign steel imports. I am now hopeful, but not totally confident, that the President’s recommendations will give the industry the time it needs to recover and restructure. But we have a long road ahead of us, and it will be many months, and in some cases years, before the industry will begin to see whether these tariffs have had the needed effect.

"I remain concerned that the President’s remedy leaves West Virginia steel in jeopardy, and especially jobs. There are three key steel products for West Virginia – flat rolled, tin and slab.

Thirty percent tariffs on flat rolled steel and tin sounds good, but under the President’s plan these quotas drop to 24 percent in the second year, and to 18 percent in the third year. This may not give our industry the time it needs to recover and rebuild. Even more troubling, a Tariff Rate Quota on slab means that we are allowing current levels of foreign slab imports to continue at close to current rates, and only putting a tariff on imports above that. Even with strong anti-surge protections – this plan may not be enough to preserve America’s basic steelmaking ability over the long term.

"As I, and industry leaders, and many others in Congress have said again and again, 40 percent tariffs for four years on all steel products and producers would have leveled the playing field and given the U.S. steel industry the full assistance it needs to get back on its feet. The President was the only one with the authority to make that critical decision.

"West Virginia’s steel jobs and West Virginia’s steel industry are still at risk. We remain vulnerable to assaults from foreign markets. The President’s 201 decision buys us time, but alone it cannot secure the jobs, health care benefits and livelihoods of over 25,000 people in the Ohio Valley.

"The next big step in this battle is to address the 600,000 retirees who could lose their health benefits and to prevent the U.S. steel industry from being bought up by foreign steel cartels that don’t care about American workers and good paying jobs. As Chairman of the Senate Steel Caucus, I still hope the President will appoint a task force to work with me and my Steel Caucus colleagues to find a workable solution on legacy costs.

"The President is going to have to address, and support, legacy costs, or else the industry will not have the flexibility it needs to consolidate and restructure. The American steel industry is too important. The President has proven that he has the ability to act, but his work is not done, and I hope he doesn’t let us down."

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