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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the International Trade Commission (ITC) voted affirmatively that the American steel industry has sustained serious injury as a result of foreign low-priced imports. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who called for the Section 201 investigation into low-priced imports, said this is a critical victory for our domestic steel industry and called on the President to impose needed relief in the form of tariffs, quotas or quantitative restraints on all steel imports found to be injurious by the Commission.

Rockefeller said, "It is the President's duty and responsibility to determine what will constitute effective relief for our industry and to impose that relief. As important as this ITC vote is, the President granting a sufficient remedy is equally important to making this ruling a real win for the American steel industry."

The ITC must now begin the 60-day remedy phase of its 201 investigation and make recommendations about what kind of relief is warranted. The President, armed with the official independent finding of injury required under our trade laws, is required to determine what the remedy will be for the industry.

With last week's announcement that Bethlehem Steel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, there are now 25 American steel companies that have been forced into bankruptcy due to low priced imports. Commenting on the significant number of bankruptcies since 1998, the senator said, "Our workers and our companies need the immediate relief they are entitled to as a result of this finding of injury from the flood of cheap imports."

"American steelworkers are among the most efficient in the world. Our industry and our workers have sacrificed for decades to modernize and become world class competitors, but over the last several years they have been besieged by relentless imports of low-priced steel due to vast excess of foreign capacity. The American industry has not recovered from the massive surges of imports that began with the Asian financial crisis in 1998 when the U.S. market became the dumping ground for international steel overcapacity," Rockefeller noted.

"In my home state of West Virginia low-priced imports have pushed Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Weirton steel into massive downsizing and restructuring. Now that the ITC has confirmed injury, they deserve the immediate relief they are entitled to," he added.

Rockefeller said the American steel industry still needs a comprehensive plan for recovery now that the ITC has confirmed injury. Rockefeller suggested that the President should provide an effective relief against all products covered by the affirmative injury determination by imposing tough tariffs. Congress should also enact and the President should sign legislation addressing the huge legacy cost obligations while encouraging consolidation in the domestic industry. All tariff revenues should be dedicated -- or returned -- to our domestic industry to help it recover from the serious injury caused by imports. And, finally, the Administration must continue its multilateral negotiations to curb foreign excess steel capacity and eliminate the subsidies and distortions in foreign steel production that created the current conditions.

Rockefeller concluded by saying that in the wake of the September terrorist attacks, "The U.S. steel industry remains a vital component of our national economy and national security. With the emerging war efforts, our domestic steel capacity is perhaps more important than ever."

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