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ROCKEFELLER ENCOURAGES ITC TO SEEK EVIDENCE FROM "BANKRUPT AND CLOSED" STEEL COMPANIES IN 201 INVESTIGATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Co-Chairs of the Senate Steel Caucus, this week urged the International Trade Commission (ITC) to gather adequate information from all domestic steel companies in order to ensure a complete Section 201 investigation. The Senators specifically requested that the investigation incorporate findings from the 19 domestic steel companies that have filed for bankruptcy since 1997. (1-page letter attached.)

Rockefeller and Specter declared, "The bankruptcy and closure of these companies have effected tens of thousands of workers and retirees in steel-dependant communities nationwide. The Commission’s Section 201 investigation will be incomplete in its assessment of the domestic steel industry unless the record of the investigation and the Commission’s report fully reflect the impact of imports on these bankruptcies and plant closures."

During a Section 201 investigation, the ITC distributes questionnaires to companies that have been affected by a drastic increase in foreign imports. Recognizing the importance of a comprehensive and complete investigation, Rockefeller sent the letter to the ITC to encourage them to use other resources, such as obtaining court documents from companies who are in bankruptcy or now closed, since many of those companies are unable to respond to the questionnaire.

"Without information from the bankrupt or closed companies the ITC will not get the true picture of the complete devastation that has taken hold of our domestic steel industry," Rockefeller added.

In early June, after encouragement from Rockefeller and other members of the Steel Caucus, President Bush asked the ITC to investigate the impact of foreign steel imports on our domestic steel market. The Senate Finance Committee, through the leadership of Rockefeller, also requested the ITC to initiate a Section 201 investigation last month, sending a strong signal to the ITC that the investigation is supported by both the Administration and Congress.

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