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ROCKEFELLER TESTIFIES BEFORE ITC HEARING ON STEEL IMPORTS
Senator Tells Commission That Steel Crisis Is a National Emergency

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This morning, during the first hearing before the International Trade Commission (ITC), Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) testified that the Section 201 investigation now underway is the most important steel matter ever to be addressed by the Commission. Citing the recent terrorist attacks against America, Rockefeller said the steel crisis was already a national security threat, but now it has become a national emergency.

Rockefeller told the Commission, "As this hearing convenes, in the wake of an attack on our nation and on our domestic security, we know that unprecedented imports – double the 1991 level last year – have sent 23 American steel companies into bankruptcy proceedings and closed five plants forever.

"The question before the Commission is whether 201 can be effective at the hour of its most urgent need – at a time when this most essential industry is on the brink of destruction."

The Section 201 investigation, which was initiated by the Bush Administration and the Senate Finance Committee at the request of Senator Rockefeller, is expected to be the largest U.S. government investigation into steel imports.

The United States International Trade Commission is responsible for conducting the investigation and determining whether foreign steel imports have played a substantial role in the decline of the domestic industry.

If the ITC finds that imports are a serious cause of injury, they will make an affirmative determination, along with recommendations to the President as to what remedial actions should be taken to provide relief.

Today’s hearing marks the first of eight public hearings to be conducted over the next three weeks at ITC headquarters in Washington, DC, with the exception of one off-site hearing to be held on October 5 in Merriville, Indiana. The ITC is expected to make its first determination by the end of October.

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